Today, Tomorrow and Everything Between
by BigGreenMonkey
Summary: Both of them know something’s wrong. Will and Elizabeth are trying to repair their broken marriage. However, when an ailing Jack Sparrow comes back with a determination to ruin the distressful affair, how will Elizabeth take it? (JW slash) !Update!
1. A Lost Pirate

This will be my first attempt at a POTC fic so please be kind. I've only seen the movie twice (I'm waiting for it to be in the cheap theatres) so please be kind and tell me what I've screwed up, both in plot and in history. Thank ye kindly.

Warnings: OOCness, het, (Will/Elizabeth, Norrington/Elizabeth) slash, (Jack/Will) and almost no Elizabeth bashing.

                        Today, Tomorrow and Everything Between

            "Will! William! Where are you?" Elizabeth called out, running in a desperate dash to find her husband. Will, however, was nowhere to be found, leaving the wealthy woman in hysterics by the time she had finished searching upstairs. Finally, at the sound of her disgruntled cries, a maid appeared.

            "What's wrong, my lady?" she inquired. The fair skinned woman just stopped, and she found she had tears blossoming in her eyes.

            "I just need to find Will!" she exclaimed, waving her arms around erratically. "Is that too much to ask for!" A little afraid of the woman in her frenzied state, the maid nodded.

            "I'm sure we can find him, Mrs. Turner. I'll send out some of the staff to search." Elizabeth sniffed slightly, trying to find the strength to compose herself.

            "Thank you, Madaline. I'm sorry for working myself up into such a state, but, it's just, well…" Elizabeth glanced skywards as she attempted to find the words. "I just can't find the words to explain it, but something's…wrong."

            "It's alright, Mrs. Turner." Madaline replied cautiously, unused to being spoken to on such personal matters. "If it's not too bold of me to say, you've been married nearly a year, you're bound to have flashes of uncertainty. But I'll tell you now that Mr. Turner is a good man, and he would never cheat on you. He married you and that's quite a commitment and-"

            "That was too bold." Elizabeth replied, and shook her head. "And you're totally wrong. I trust Will. I know he'd never take another lover behind my back. But something bad is about to happen."

            "I'm sure it's just a little fear, Mrs-"

            "No." Elizabeth shook her head, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's not some sort of queasy feeling. I know something will go wrong. It's written in the fates. I can feel it." Madaline, who didn't care much for predictions or that nonsense, simply backed away cautiously. Maybe Mrs. Turner had made a pact with the Devil. Madaline had heard of rich, yet unhappy people doing such a thing.

            "I'll go find your husband, Mrs. Turner." And with that, she all but ran away from Elizabeth. The beautiful woman simply sighed, allowing herself to collapse near the window of her childhood home. It wasn't nonsense, because she knew. 

'He's a pirate.' She had said, as they leaned in for a passionate kiss. And, true to her word, William was. She saw the way Will had looked at the sea since their adventure. She had seen the longing in his eyes, like a lover calling out for his beloved. He was a pirate, and both of them knew it. However, after their adventure, she never thought she'd life to see the day she would regret having chosen one of them for a lover. 

Yet everyday, he went out and stared at the dock. He went alone after work, and sometimes he'd spend hours out there, leaving her alone. Will Turner may have been an honest man, but to be sure he had become a dreamer as of late.

Her husband's blood inheritance incensed the woman, and at the same time made her feel guilty. She shouldn't try to keep him from what he truly was. She visioned herself as an anchor, holding down his ship. Then, she would become angry. It was his fault! He himself had told her he had pined for her since the moment he laid eyes on her. Was it her fault he was easily bored, like a child?

            Elizabeth sighed again. It wasn't right. The entire thing almost felt like a sham. She knew she loved Will. His gentle way and good looks had wooed her, not to mention his kindness and loyalty. But there was still something missing. They both felt it.

            Elizabeth gazed out of the window, allowing a sort of mellow calmness come over her. She could feel it. What was about to go wrong was coming, swiftly. It seemed to race closer and closer, daring the Governor's daughter to stand in its path. And, in her relaxed state, she thought 'Let it come.' 

For a moment, she could have sworn she saw a small ship out on the horizon, slowing becoming larger in the lowering sun. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone again, leaving the British woman slightly perplexed.

            William Turner, son of the late Bootstrap Turner, wasn't one to back away from commitment. Like his father, he was a good, honourable man who drew a clear line between right and wrong. He was respectful, kind, attractive and well aware of his duty to society. Yet, somehow, everything wasn't as clear-cut as it once was for the young man. 

He loved Elizabeth. He knew he did. She was kind, beautiful and adventurous. And all those nights they had spent entwined under the covers almost made William think he loved her as much as she deserved. Because then, everything was right. Life couldn't be sweeter in those dying moments as the sun rose, and her shallow breathing became his entire world.

            Then the sun was high in the sky, and they were out in the world, side by side as everyone watched them pass. They laughed, they fought, and they made up. But there was something missing. It was like Elizabeth had become his best friend in the last bit since their adventures had happened. It almost felt wrong to love her like he had to. When they ventured out onto the streets, he felt the stares of the people. They all seemed to taunt him, calling him out. 

'A mere blacksmith marrying the Governor's daughter? It's wrong.'

 'He doesn't even love her!' 

'That Norrington man would have made a much better match. Can't understand why he let her get away and go to that scum blacksmith.' 

'It's because Commodore Norrington is a much better man then Turner will ever be.'  

            Sometimes, Will thought of leaving it all behind. Creating a new life for himself and Elizabeth, because it wasn't fair to her. Will knew he could never love her as much as she deserved, and economically they were complete opposites. In fact, her father had almost begged them to take the house. William had at first refused, out of pride and respect for Mr. Swann, but as his insistence, Elizabeth had finally caved and agreed to live at home. 'It's all on the government's check anyway.' He had laughed, patting his large belly. 

He knew her father was disappointed over Elizabeth's choice, but allowed her to marry him because it had made her happy at the time. Sometimes, Will wished Norrington had forced her to honour her commitment. Maybe it would have turned out better. Maybe he wouldn't feel this aching pain a pain solved possibly by leaving it all behind. 

            Will Turner was an honest man though, and he wouldn't leave her for all the gold in England. It would be wrong, not to mention the guilt he would carry for the rest of his life. So, until other options arrived, he was here. And here wasn't such a bad place to be.

            The ocean pounded against the shores in a futile attempt to rise against the wall of rock, and the smell of salt invigorated him. He was near water, and he had a good living as the husband of a noble. His wife was sweet, and he was respected. This could definitely be a lot worse, he decided.

            "Mr. Turner!" He turned about, and saw one of the house's help running towards him.

            "Yes?" he asked.

            "Mrs. Turner is callin' for you sir, and she seemed to be in an awful fret." William began to fear.

            "Is she hurt? What's wrong?" The maid shook her head.

            "I don't know. But I'd get over there as soon as I could, if I were you." He nodded.

            "Thank you." And he started off towards the house at an amazingly fast pace. 

            "Blu'y Cap'in." Anamaria grumbled as she tossed the unconscious form of Jack Sparrow off the ship and into Gibb's waiting arms. She quickly followed, landing on the dock with a bit of a roll, but then standing up and gazing over the town.

            "What a shithole place." She murmured, shaking her head and giving her captain a look. "I'll never get ye."

            "Hurry." Gibbs grunted, staggering a bit with the weight of Jack. "'E may not looked like it, but 'e's like a ton of bricks!" Anamaria was about to reply, before she was interrupted.

            "That'll be a shilling to tie up your boat, and you have to sign your name." A short, stalky man demanded. Anamaria sighed and dug into her pocket.

            "Three shillings and keep yer mouth shut." She replied stoutly, and grabbing the wrists of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, she helped pull the unconscious man into town.

"Elizabeth?" Will called out, glancing around the huge house uncertainly. He started to climb the stairs. "Elizabeth? Are you OK? Are you hurt? Elizabeth?" He suddenly saw her at the top of the stairs, peeking around the corner nervously. Relief flooding through him at the sight of her, and he rushed up to comfort her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, throwing his arms around her. "I've heard you were quite worked up." He hugged her firmly, but frowned when he got no physical response. "Elizabeth, love, have I done something wrong?" he asked, immediately panicking. He wasn't used to offending women. Never the less, Elizabeth shook her head, leaning into her husband.

"I'm sorry, I can't explain it, but I just really need you to be here now. Something is… happening." Shaking her head, Elizabeth sighed and buried her face in her husband's chest. "I just need you to be here." Nodding, Will hugged his wife a bit tighter, trying to give her the reassurance she obviously needed. After a few moments, he stepped back from her and smiled, holding onto her hands gently.

"Why don't we try to go get some sleep? Maybe you'll feel better in the morning." Elizabeth's eyes flickered with sparks of insecurity.

"Us?" she asked, gazing into Will's brown eyes. Will nodded, rubbing the back of her hands gently. There was silence for a moment. Then, "Alright." The couple turned, and made their way towards their bedroom.

Anamaria sighed as she entered the Hodge's Pub. It wasn't one they usually frequented but had a reputation for giving out the right information for the right price. She casually leaned against a beam, glancing around at the patrons, trying to find a snitch. She didn't have to wait for long.

"Need to know something, Missy?" an old man draped in an old cloaked sidled up to her, using his cane for balance. His entire form was covered the loose fabric, which left a lot to mystery.

"'Ere does William Turner live?" she asked.

"How much have you got?" Sighing, Anamaria held out five shillings. The elderly man seemed to consider it for a moment before swiping the coinage off of her palm.

"He lives in the Swann estates, with his wife, Elizabeth." Anamaria curled her lip at this, looking angry.

"D'ya know which room is 'er personal quarters?"

"Top floor, on the east side I think." Anamaria nodded, then turned on her heel and strode out of the pub.

William gently stroked his wife's hair, concentration on the sound of her breath. She had finally calm down enough to let him sing her to sleep. They were only partially undressed and it had become one of the moments where everything seemed right, and he wouldn't change any of it for anything. He cherished these moments, knowing when the sun rose, the world would change and he would be empty again. So he simply comforted himself with these few nights and tried to live the rest out the best he could.

His melodramatic thoughts were interrupted by a loud tap on the window. For a moment, he froze, thinking the worst. When nothing further happened he settled back down with Elizabeth, sure it was just a tree branch or something. At least he did, until 'WHAM!' A rock came crashing through the window as numerous shards flew through the room and on the side of the building. He startled, sitting up straight as he raised an arm to protect himself, and Elizabeth woke up.

"Will? What's happening?" she demanded, sitting up with a flushed face. She glanced around at the pieces of glass on the floor. "Who's at the window?"

"Wait." He got up and cautiously and approached the window. He flattened himself to the wall, then peered around the edge of the frame wearily….

"Turner, you rott'n son of uh bitch! Get yer whelp-arse down 'ere!" a voice called harshly. Will frowned, then went to the window and stared down. Anamaria stared at him defiantly. She made a 'come hither' motion before diving into the bushes. A moment later, a guard appeared from around the house, glancing around for a moment before going back to his original post.  Will breathed a sigh of relief.

"William? Who was that?" his wife asked him, coming to his left shoulder. Will shook his head.

"Nothing. I'm going downstairs, stay here for a moment." Elizabeth frowned, a worry crossing her eyes as Will strode across their room and out again.

"What are you doing here?" Will asked, as he fell to his hands and knees to get under the bush. Anamaria sat down on the other side, Gibbs and a still unconscious Jack Sparrow at her side. Will froze for a moment at the sight of the captain and sat down carefully. "Why are you here?" he asked again, still eyeing the sleeping body.

"Jack's sick." Gibbs explained. William nodded, but frowned when no other answers sprung fourth.

"Well, what have I got to do with it?" Anamaria sighed, looking up impatiently.

"You are going to take care of him." She replied, as though it were obvious. Will frowned, confused.

"What in the name of… no, I can't!" he exclaimed. "I'm married to Elizabeth and we live in the home of the people who would love to see Jack hung. It's not plausible. Our safety, and the safety of Jack-"

"Cap'n Jack." Gibbs interrupted. Will's frown deepened.

"Captain Jack Sparrow would be jeopardized. I don't believe it would be worth the risks."

"It has to be you, Will." Gibbs spoke softly. "The cap'in hisself ordered it." Will stared, a little unsure of what he had heard.

"Why me? Why couldn't you dump him somewhere else, or just keep him on the ship?" Anamaria nodded.

"'At's what we wonted to do too, 'cept when Jack fell so ill we realized we couldn't cure 'im onboard. We 'ere going to dump him elsewheres, but then we realized you were the closest." She shrugged. "You're stuck with 'im."

"But.. but…" Will stuttered. "I don't have the proper medical training, and I don't know anything about sick people. We don't have anywhere to keep him either. If Elizabeth's father found out…"

"So you're scared?" The ebony skinned pirate demanded, a fire glowing in her eyes. Will shook his head, but before he could open his mouth, Anamaria spoke again.

"He saved your life and the life of that lass. You owe him."

"I owe him nothing. I saved him from hanging." Still, Will looked a bit guiltily at the pirate. "Look, I want to help him, but it's just not practical! Why can't you take him somewhere else in town? Just pay the person not to remember."

"'E specific'ly said you, Will. 'E trusts you." Gibbs spoke up.

"Well, that's all find and dandy, but up to the point where Mr. Swann and Norrington find Jack, 'trust'isn't going to help him a whole lot." Will raged, unable to stop himself. "I don't know how to take care of him, we have nowhere to keep him-" 

"I know where we could keep him." A quiet voice interrupted, and the three looked up to see Elizabeth Turner, looking down on them with interest. William stood up to face his wife.

"Elizabeth, please think of the impracticalities of this. If-"

"I know the risks." She replied coldly. "I'm not a child." Hr husband immediately found the fight to be knocked out of him. She had never spoken in such a cold, distant tone to him. She was serious.

Elizabeth turned to the two conscious pirates. She nodded towards the front doors.

"I told the guards there to take the night off. The coast is clear." Anamaria and Gibbs nodded, each grabbing some part of Captain Jack Sparrow and proceeded to drag him towards the doors. William followed, defeated and worried.

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So, how is it coming along so far? Any suggestions? Should I shoot this and let the dogs eat it's remains? Let me know. 

I plan for this to be a fairly long fic, with updates hopefully about once a week or so. I think I have a fairly good plot, but once again, let me know if I've messed up anywhere. Thanks.

Also, there will be a teaser at the bottom of the page for the next chapter. Fore instance,

Chapter 2 Teaser

"Look at what I found under the mattress!" Elizabeth exclaimed, shaking around the offending item. "What is the meaning of this? It's not mine!" Will blinked a couple of times, unsure of what to do.


	2. A Plot, Anger and Confusion

I'd like to say, when I put out the first chapter, I wanted to make it good enough that I'd get 5 reviews telling me to at least wait a bit before sending this to the dogs. Your response flattered me, and made my huge ego that much bigger. Thank you.

Eck: Thank you! I felt the 'Will goes aboard the Pearl' thing was already heavily is use, and I though I'd try something different. I agree, Elizabeth is over played as a self-centred brat a bit. My personal feeling on her is she can go without the finer things she's accustomed to, but would prefer not to.

MilkWay: You hear what's wrong with him in this chapter. And I did hurry, amazingly enough. :D I was going to update every week, but figured since I had gotten so far on it I'd update about every 5 days, give or take.

Robotphobic: Looking back, I realize you're right. I kinda of DID overdo it on the movie homage in the first chapter, didn't I? I'll try to keep that on check. Thanks for the constructive criticism; I find many people are too afraid to give it. 

            You really think I've done the break up subtly? Alright! I was worried I was beating people over the head with it. Anamaria will get a fair bit of screen time in this, don't worry^^ I'm sorry, but there is a savvy in this chapter, but no OC planned yet. 

AaeIIe: Thank you! I'm glad you like it. Jack, I mean CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow will pull through, and little physical damage will befall the Turners :D

Callie: You thought they were in character? No one's ever accused me of that before. I'm honoured ^^

Spunky1612: Yeah, I hate teasers too. I was inspired by the scene after he credits of POTC. I'm happy you think I got Will right.

……………….: Interesting idea. I considered that avenue too. I've met my partner in crime :D The dog is happy you were thoughtful enough to mention feeding him.

Legolaslover: Thanks! I'm happy you liked it that much.

Icy Flame: Talent? :: tears well up in her eyes and her ego grows:: They really like me!

Elwen-a-Elrohwen: Yes, plenty of slash. I hope. There will be slashy sections, but I'm evil, so things will happen to pause the slash. Buahahaha!!!

TigerLily: You are going to hate my fan fic :D I know I shouldn't be scaring people off, but I'm trying to do it in 'real time' and 'real time' is boring. So, I'm attempting to speed things along, combine chapters, ect. But somehow it's still freakishly long. ::sigh:: Anywho, I'm hoping to have more action in future chapters.  But thanks on the idea part. I was hoping to do something a bit original ^^

Thanks to everyone for reviewing!

For all future chapters, as well as this one italics= flashback. Savvy?

Summary: Will and Elizabeth have been married a year. They're both extremely happy right? However, when Jack Sparrow comes back with a determination to ruin Will's marriage, how will Elizabeth take it?

Warnings: OOCness, het, (Will/Elizabeth, Norrington/Elizabeth) slash, (Jack/Will) and almost no Elizabeth bashing.

                                    Today, Tomorrow and Everything Between

            "I can't believe we're taking in Jack Sparrow. This is very irrational. We're risking his life." Will grumbled for the umpteenth time as Elizabeth looked the pirate over. She rolled up his sleeve to reveal many liaisons and colour spots that almost looked like bruises.

            "Yes, well, you seem seemed willing to do anything for Jack when they wanted to hang him. 'My place is here, between you and Jack.'" She mocked, lifting the pirate's arm and letting it flop back down experimentally. Her husband winced as he remembered his particularly bash actions.

            "Yes, but he saved both of our lives. It was more of a repayment. Besides, we didn't keep him in the guest room afterwards. "

            "Admit it." Elizabeth challenged, glancing up into his eyes. "You like Jack." For a moment, Will felt frozen as she gazed into his eyes. Did he like Jack? Maybe. More then Elizabeth?

            Elizabeth looked away, trying to ignore the feelings of shame. She shouldn't have done that. It was just tearing them further apart, and even though she knew it wouldn't last very much longer, her girlish hopes of true love prevailing hadn't left her quite yet.

            "Well, I didn't see you objecting to taking him in last night." Will pointed out. Elizabeth shrugged.

            "He saved both of our lives. It was more of a repayment." The fair woman rose from the floor and dusted herself off. "I think I know what to do." Will frowned up at her from his spot on the floor.

            "What to do? This man has scurvy, Elizabeth. I've seen it a thousand times before. It's not something we can easily solve." Elizabeth shook her head.

            "Haven't you ever heard of James Find?" At Will's puzzled look, she sighed. "He's done some testing on people, and he thinks lemons and oranges might be the cure." Her husband snorted.

            "Lemons? Well, if lemons why not make it strawberries and cake!" Elizabeth sighed.

            "I forgot. You are a mere blacksmith, not intelligent enough for the world of medicine." Her husband looked down, rubbing his arm.

            "Ouch." He murmured. Elizabeth smiled slightly.

            "Sorry love. You're incredibly intellectual." She replied, sitting on the single bed. "But I'll send someone out for more lemons and lime tomorrow, and it'll be your job to take care of Jack."

            "Why can't you do it?" Will begged, gazing up with the puppy dog look.

            "Because I am a lady, and there are certain things a woman shouldn't see." Her significant other frowned.

            "But you've already seen everything. Quite a few times." He remarked, earning himself a swift kick in the thigh. Elizabeth glared down at the injured blacksmith before continuing.

            "Now, as this is the guest room, we obviously can't have Jack staying here alone. So I've devised a plot." Will got up and sat beside her on the bed, looking at her with interest. Turning to face him, she laid out her plan. "We obviously can't have the maids running around here either, so here's what we have to do. You and I get into a huge fight. We stand in the hall, so the entire house can hear us. We shout non-stop for ten minutes! Then I banish you to the guest room, until we come to terms. Which won't be for almost a month. In a fit of rage, I tell all the maids not to go into your room, and to let them allow you to bathe in your own putrid mess." Will blinked.

            "That's an, uh, interesting idea." He replied. "But what will we fight about?"

            "Your infidelity, of course." Elizabeth smiled as the blacksmith's jaw dropped.

            "But that could cause problems with your father, the entire house! They'd never look at me the same!" Elizabeth sighed.

            "When Jack is gone, we have a tearful reunion in which I cry and announce I was being paranoid, and everyone is happy." Will glanced down at the pirate angrily. Jack had a habit of stirring things up, and not in a good way. 

"Savvy?" Will started, and stared at the pirate, before realizing the voice was female. He glared at his wife as she giggled, smiling happily.

            "Sorry dear. I couldn't resist." But her face turned business like again, and Will listened with rapt attention. "Wait in here for a minute, and when I start screaming your name, come out, looking confused. Then, when I accuse you of cheating, become very angry and we'll have a shouting match." 

            "Should I hit you?" he suggested. Elizabeth frowned.

            "I'm trying to create a picture of a dissatisfied man, not an abusive spouse." Will smiled for a moment.

"I don't know if I like what our last trip together has done to you. You're far too crafty now."

"Watch it now, or you may be staying in the guest room longer them you think." She smiled, and with that Elizabeth got up to leave. She lingered in the doorway for a moment, before turning back, her face set in a serious expression.

            "Will, you know that what I say out there I don't mean, and I love you, no matter what happens." Will nodded, smiling a bit sadly at the woman he was supposed to love.

            "I know." Elizabeth returned his small smile and left. Will sighed laying back on the bed. He glanced around at the guest room, which, while not carrying the splendour of the other rooms, had a dignity of it's own. The room had a flowerish lining of wallpaper, and the entire room had a girlish effect. A small vase of flowers sat on the desk, and it was as immaculate as the rest of the manor. Then, the blacksmith gazed at the pirate and sighed. 

Jack always brought trouble with him, and Will doubted this time would be any different. For all the protesting Will, he really found himself somewhat attracted to the man. Maybe it was the fact that he always stirred things up. Maybe it was his way of being in a constant state of drunkenness, but always keeping his wits about him. Perhaps it was he way he always smelled like the sea, with a hint of rum. Maybe it was just that he was Jack Sparrow. However, the young man was trying to distance himself from such distractions at such a troubled point in his life. The fates, be it, seemed to have different ideas for him. 

            "Alright, so you'll be takin' good care of the Cap'in, right?" Aamaria asked, glancing around the guest room uncertainly. "Remember, he wakes up e'ery once 'n a while."

_            "They'll take fine care of 'im." Gibbs replied. "Let's be hurrin' back to the Pearl 'fore 'er caught." Anamaria nodded, then turned back to Elizabeth and Will with a serious expression on her face._

_            "The moon is full righ' now." She said slowly. "We'll be back when 'ts full again. Do not forget. We'll wait by the dock at midnigh'." And with a final nod, she and Gibbs made their way out of the room, and Elizabeth and Will were alone._

_            "Well, what do we do now?" A frustrated Will asked, running his hand through his long, dark hair._

_            "You'll be camping out here tonight." Will groaned_

_            "Thanks a lot."_

_            "And I think the gentlemanly thing to do would to let Jack have the bed. He is, after all, the sick one." Will groaned, but he knew she was right, and probably would have done it without her insistence anyway. Will had always had a helping hand for the ailing or otherwise less fortuned, and it even extended a bit to Jack, to Will's misfortune._

            "I hate you." His empty words rang without much conviction as he berated himself. It wasn't really fair, after all the man was unconscious. Yet the anger, pain and resentment he drew up in the blacksmith was amazing. Will had never felt as passionate about another human being before. He had felt this kind of draw only from his work and swordplay. The dark haired man knew this was bad. He was trying to repair his relationship with Elizabeth; he didn't need this. Yet, another part of his mind protested. 'Maybe you do. Maybe this is the answer.' Will ignored this part. It was a romantic, a dreamer. It could never understand the realities of the world. He also chose to ignore it was part of him. He didn't need crap like that.

            Although, if the blacksmith were to be completely honest, if he hadn't been living with Elizabeth he probably would have taken Jack in with little protest. He had warmed up to the pirate considerably since their trip to the Isle de Muerta, and while his prejudice against pirates had faded, he still found the current predicament a little too dangerous. Then again, maybe the danger was what he craved. 

            _"Huh? 'Ere the blu'y 'ell?" a thick voice called out. William awoke, a little confused himself until he remembered the entire arrangement. He glanced down to see a confused Jack._

_            "Ah. God it hurts. All my joints are on fire." He moaned, and Will frowned, unsure of what to do._

_            "Jack?" he asked quietly. The pirate suddenly stopped, then, with apparent effort, turned a bit to face Will._

_            "Long time since I've seen you. Ye kidnapped me, didn't you?" Will sighed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and stepping off. He crouched down to face Jack._

_            "You're sick Jack. They brought you here to get better." He explained. The pirate frowned._

_            "A lot of good that's doin' me, eh then? God I hurt." And Jack laid down again, and soon his deep breathing confirmed his state of consciousness._

_            That happened several ore times during the night, but in total Will probably only talked to him for about ten minutes._

            "William Turner!" an indignant voice called out. Will sighed, and rolled off the bed, stepping over the unconscious Jack as he left.

            "William Turner!" an enraged Elizabeth called out again, waving her arms angrily as she stopped at the top of the stairs. "Where are you?" she cried out. Will came wearily around the corner, trying to feign confusion and worry.

            "Is something wrong?" he asked. Elizabeth, by now, was simply consumed with anger. Her face glowed red and she held out a barrette towards him, expecting an answer. Truth be told, Will was a bit scared.

            "Look at what I found under the mattress!" Elizabeth exclaimed, shaking around the offending item. "What is the meaning of this? It's not mine!" Will blinked a couple of times, unsure of what to do. He had never been a very good actor, as he was constantly ruled by his emotions. "Well?" she demanded.

            "I… uh, I liked it so I… wore it." He tried. By now a few of the servants had stopped, and were gazing mindlessly at the scene above them. At this point, one of the kitchen maids had snapped back to reality and was softly treading away, probably to gather more.

            "Yes." He decided finally. "I liked it so I bought it and wore it." Elizabeth stared at him for a moment, completely dumbfounded.

            "Um, well, yes." She mumbled, looking down. When she looked up again the rage was clearly defined in her features and the barrette was being squeezed to the point of no return. "A likely story! You been sleeping with my maid, haven't you!"

            "I've done no such thing." He replied, trying to sound indignant and failing. "How dare you accuse me of something like that!"

            "You've been taking someone other then me to bed!" the Governor's daughter cried out dramatically. "You're gone all hours of the night and day! I rarely ever see you anymore, Will!" Fake (real?) tears started to well up in her eyes. "All I want is to be around you. Why don't you love me anymore?" Elizabeth's voice was nearly a whisper now, and her sudden dramatics had inflamed Will.

            "I'd stay around more often, but unlike some people, I have to work! You simply spend your days shopping or gossiping with your friends. If I had that much leisure time, I might spend more moments with you!" Elizabeth gasped, the tears coming to a standstill. They had crossed the line, and they both knew it. Will wasn't acting anymore.

            "Oh yeah? You're time isn't as valuable as you might think, Will!" her voice had gone from dramatic to angry, and more people stood at the bottom of the step. "All you do is sit down at that dock and glance out over the water all day! You don't talk to anyone, nor do you swim. You sit there and stare. And you would rather stare out by the dock then be by my side! I can't stand how lonely it is without you."

            "Oh?" Will demanded, clenching his hands into fists to stop them from shaking. "If being without me saddens you so much, why don't you come down with me! Maybe I'd like the company."

            "You never asked!" His wife cried out, tossing the barrette away unconsciously. "It's never 'Elizabeth, do you want to come to the dock with me?' You get up in the morning and leave without a goodbye, a note, anything!"

            "I don't want to wake you up!"

            "Maybe I want to be woken up once in a while!"

            "You always yell when I accidentally wake you!"

            "Maybe you're just too insufferably to be around!

            "Maybe you should find someone else if I irritate you so much!" At this, Elizabeth gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Will suddenly felt tired and defeated. He didn't want to fight. What was this over again? Oh, right.

            Jack Sparrow.

            "What do you mean by that?" Elizabeth asked fearfully.

            "Why don't you figure it out?" he snapped. She growled.

            "Fine, if you can't be civil, you're staying in the guest room until you can. You are insufferable, William Turner!" With that, she turned on her heel and brushed past him, sobbing uncontrollably as the sound of her door slamming rang across the house. By now over a dozen people had gathered at the bottom steps to watch the fight. Will turned to them wearily, sighing at all the eyes that followed his every move.

            "Well, go on now." He exclaimed, shooing them away. "You are being paid to work!" At this, the crowd started to part, and as they all milled to their proper positions, Will went back up to the guest room. However, when he got there, the first thing he saw was Captain Jack Sparrow. Feeling an angry resentment come on again, Will turned and walk back out again.

            The wife of Will Turner was at a complete loss of what to do. The thinly disguised sham of a marriage was starting to crack. It was to be expected, she thought in retrospect. What a stupid plan she had created. Now she didn't know if Will was truly mad at her or if he was acting. A wryly smile crossed her lips. He wasn't acting, and she knew it. The true question was if he would continue to act.

            However, what she felt the most guilt for was the fact she felt she had planned it. When she had started acting, her true anger had caught up with her, and she had taunted Will with a reality of their relationship, hoping for a rise. She had gotten it, and while she had felt almost exuberant at the time, a small pit of worry formed in her stomach now. She didn't mean to push them apart, but it seemed se was helpless to stop her own actions.

            Elizabeth smiled down at a charcoal drawing of her and Will. They had gotten it drawn when they had ventured into to town. It was earlier in their relationship, when they still thought they were meant to be. Regardless of what was happening now, those early months would always be among the happiest of her life. 

            "Mrs?" Madaline cautiously knocked. "May I come in?" Elizabeth silently crossed to her dresser, and put the drawing under the fake bottom. Wiping the charcoal from her hands to her dress, she took a deep breath. 

            "If you wish, come in." Nothing happened for a moment, and then the maid slowly pushed the door open, almost as if Elizabeth were a wild animal she might startle.

            "I'm sorry Mrs. Turner, I know this is a hard time for you, but your father said he would eat dinner with you and Mr. Turner tonight." She said quietly, looking a bit sorry for her mistress. "However, if you don't want to go down to dinner, I could always tell him your sick or-"

            "No, I will join them for tonight." She replied. Madaline looked at her for a moment, debating what would be proper to say.

            "Mrs. Turner, I hope you know I haven't done anything with your husband." Elizabeth shook her head and smiled slightly. 

"No, I have faith in you. I don't accuse you of being his mistress." The maid was visibly relieved, and managed a smile.

            "I'll call you when dinner is ready."  Elizabeth nodded and her servant turned to go.

            "Speaking of William, I must ask you to tell the other maids to not go into his room to clean." Madaline looked a bit stunned.

            "But he might just up and kill himself, living in all that filth. Men aren't used to cleaning!"

            "He's a big boy, he can take care of himself." The fair skinned woman's face turned to one of suspicion. "That is, unless you have some kind of emotional attachment to him." The maid's eyes widened before she nodded.

            "Yes, I'll tell them ma'am."

"Also, I'd like you to make lemon juice tomorrow. Lots of it." Madaline looked at her carefully, trying to disguise her confusion.

"Yes, Mrs. Turner." And as she hurried to get away once again, Elizabeth smiled.

            When William had been told of dinner, he had not been over-joyed, to say the least. Half the town had heard about the fight by the time Will had found the dock, and everyone seemed to have something to say to him. Some of the women came to slap him (he had several good sized bruises now). Others had come to try to 'comfort' him for a night. Others still said she was probably over reacting. Either way he had heard it (or felt it) from both sides, and was tried of the small town, and people in general. He knew, however, to ignore Mr. Swann in addition to making Elizabeth cry in the same day would not create a good image. So, he was trapped. It was with a weary heart that he trudged back to the house in which he was forced to live in.

            When he got there, however, Mr. Swann wasn't quite ready yet, so he went up to his room and faced Jack Sparrow. He was still in the position he and Elizabeth had left him earlier that morning. Feeling bad for continually blaming an unconscious, sick man for his troubles, he folded the covers on the bed back and bent down to get Jack. 

The pirate, while being fairly lean, managed to carry his own in terms of body mass. Will found himself grateful he didn't actually have to drag Jack anywhere far as the body of the Captain bounced slightly as he was tossed onto the bed. The blacksmith proceeded to remove all excess clothing from Jack, and soon he was lying there in a white shirt a black pants. Sighing, Will tucked him into the bed on his back. As Will stepped back to admire his handy work, he allowed himself to admit that he was, in a way, happy about Jack's unexpected visit. 

            To him, Jack represented the sea. Unpredictable and relentless, and the same salty smell lingered over the two. However, at the same time Jack was so different. So different from the sea and from Will himself. Jack was an enigma, and maybe Will's drive to control everything that went on around him had given the blacksmith a desire to see Jack again, to figure him out. Yet, when Jack simply laid there, all his muscles relaxed and mouth immobile, it was almost impossible to imagine any complexity to the man at all. That was one of the more complex things about Jack.

            He heard a knock at the door, and a voice called out "Mr. Turner, dinner is ready." The servant's footsteps echoed down the hall, and Will waited until he could hear them no more to join the meal.

            Elizabeth found herself with mixed feelings as he saw Will come down to dinner. On one hand, she found she wish he had holed himself up in his room so she could play the victim to her father. On the other hand, she was happy that Will didn't seem to have been as affected by their argument as she had, which made her rethink every moment, trying to figure out if Will truly had felt angry, or if he had become an incredibly good actor over night.

            "Hello William." Her father greeted him warmly. Will nodded a bit curtly.

            "Hello Mr. Swann." The man in question waved off the blacksmith's politeness.

            "Now now, there is no need for that. I'm you father in law Will. We're family." Will managed a polite, gracious smile as he sat down and tucked the napkin into his shirt. "Now, how is my happy family?" Mr. Swann asked, seemingly oblivious to their argument that morning. For a moment, there was an awkward silence as Elizabeth and Will looked at each other questioningly.

            "We're doing quite well." The dark haired man finally choked out. "In fact, just today we were having a lively discussion." Mr. Swann laughed.

            "Communication, the most important thing in any relationship I've always said. Didn't I tell you to marry somebody you love talking to, Elizabeth?" He asked his daughter, smiling kindly. Elizabeth swallowed her bite of ham before responding.

            "Yes, and your advice has done me well." She smiled graciously at her husband, (is everything OK?) and Will hesitantly returned the smile (it will be).

            "Excellent, excellent. I'm glad to hear it. Will, how is your shop going?" The rest of the conversation was simply idol chatter, and both the Turners were happy for the distraction in their mounting problems. Eventually, they were finished dinner, and the evening came to a wind down.

            "I'm afraid I must leave you two for tonight." Elizabeth told them, standing up and placing her napkin on top of her plate. "Your company has been pleasurable and I will hopefully see both of you soon." She gave the two of them a smile, the thrill of the barb forming, and then left. There was a bit of a silence as both men traced her footsteps back up to her bedroom. Finally, Will gave an over exaggerated yawn and stretched out his arms as the plates were cleared.

            "I'm afraid I'll have to call it an evening too, Mr. Swann. It's been a pleasure." He stood to get up, but his father in law suddenly grabbed his wrist.

            "Will, I need to talk to you about something." Will sighed and sat back down, wincing. He was in so much trouble.

            "I head you and Elizabeth had a little… squabble earlier in the day. Over your supposed infidelity." He said slowly. Will nodded.

            "Yes, we did, but I didn't mean to yell at her. It was simply a misunderstanding and I never meant to-"

            "I don't care about whether you've had another woman." He snorted, once again waving his Son in law's words aside. "God knows I have enough trysts behind her mothers back. No," The blacksmith looked a bit dumbfound as the Governor got up and started to pace around. "What I'm worried about are children."

            "Children?" Will asked, a bit unbelieving. The older man nodded.

            "Yes. See, William, I only have so long left, and nothing would give me greater pleasure then to be able to have the company of young blood again. I miss having Elizabeth's little feet running all around, and I miss the childishness and happiness children bring with them. Almost all other men my age have grandchildren, and I'd like to be able to see them and play with them before I die. Do you understand, William?"

            "Yes sir." He replied, obviously relieved. "I can see what you mean."

            "I don't know if you and my daughter are trying to have a child or not, but I'd appreciate it if you could possibly discuss it with her. You know, throw in what I said." He stopped pacing, and stood over Will. "Would that be a problem?" Will shook his head.

            "I'll talk to her." The older man nodded.

            "Good. You may go now." Nodding, Will got up to leave, but was once again stopped by his Father in law.

            "I'd just like to add that I don't care if you have mistresses. It's none of my business. But if you hurt Elizabeth, I'm afraid that's when it becomes my business." Will nodded.

            "I understand."

"You might also want to put something on those bruises." Will nodded again.

"I will. Good night, Governor." He bowed slightly, then made his way back up the grand staircase. At the top, Elizabeth had waited for him, and she put a finger to her lips while the other one bid him to follow her. They silently made their way back to her room.

            "What did he need to talk to you about?" She asked, closing the door behind her quietly. Will sighed, going over to her dresser and taking a seat on her chair.

            "He wants us to have children." He replied, a slight smile playing about his lips. "Children. Imagine that." Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, sitting down on her bed.

            "The idea isn't that funny, is it? I always assumed we'd have children." Will nodded.

            "Well, yes, I did too it's just that-"

            "We're not quite-"

            "There-"

            "Ready."

            "Or prepared." Will finished, and they both smiled in spite of themselves. "We will, though. Eventually." To both of them, his voice sounded hollow with an unlikely promise. 

            "When we're ready." Elizabeth agreed. "Or when it happens." Again, they both just smiled. An awkward silence fell on them.

            "Well," the black haired man stretched, getting up. "It's been a long day. I'll go check on Jack and get to sleep." Elizabeth nodded.

            "I'll see you tomorrow, Will." He nodded. There was another tense silence. "You acted very well today, during our fight." She attempted lamely. Will gave a weak smile.

            "But my performance was nothing compared to yours. Goodnight, Elizabeth."

            "Goodnight."

            88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

I know, I know. I bet I know the complaint on everyone's mind. More slash, less W/E, bring in Jack. Don't worry, he WILL appear in the next chapter, and takes on a central role in the fourth chapter. I'm sorry this one was so long. I got a bit carried away.

Also, James Lind discovered the correlation between acidic fruits and the remission of scurvy in 1747, I believe, although it wasn't used as an official medical treatment until the later 1700s. (Feel free to correct me)  I took the time period to be a bit after that (1747). I'm sorry if I've screwed with an official year for the movie.

I'd like to ask you guys a question. After seeing the movie 4 times, I took great interest in the sword-fighting scene between Jack and Will. You know, the part where Will goes 'You threatened Ms. Swann.' And Jack rubs his blade up and down Wills and goes 'Only a little.' Did anyone else beside me feel a bit of sexual tension? (My friend thinks that's stupid, but I'd like to get someone else's opinion, preferably one that coincides with mine) 

And now I'll leave you with your thought for the day: If Jack and Will weren't meant to be slashed, why were they given the names of 2 homosexual pop culture icons?

Chapter 3 Teaser

"Ow… Gods, what have I done?" Jack croaked, once again settling in to consciousness. "I'll stop drinking, I'll stop chasin' women, I'll settl' down and become an honest citizen!"


	3. Of Lemon Juice and Baths

Chapter three. Sorry it's so late.

Carolinus Took: Thanks for your support ^^

Alicia C. Summers: Why thank you! I hoped someone would notice my genius.. :: head starts to blow up::

Sherry Marie: I'm happy my style is noticeable. I hope you didn't have to wait too long for this chapter, although I must admit I'm unhappy with it.

..................: Ah, a return reviewer. You blow up my ego the most :D I'm sorry, but there will be gratuitous Will torture and Jack will screw up numerous times. And I didn't picture Elizabeth as the over mothering type, so I decided just to go with what I did. I'm happy you liked mine better. I went 'Ah crap. They've found the more exciting avenue.':)  I say Jack was too busy drinking rum to be worried about lemons and limes. And you'll have to see when the slashy action comes around ^^

Jadefire: I'm sorry, I failed you. This chapter bites. :: sigh:: But thanks for reviewing!

Squee: 7 times? And I was proud that I had seen it 5! Jeeze, you're the queen! :)  And you're right, that 'my place' scene really DOES deserve some sort of threesome fic. It's almost like Disney is trying to get us to slash everyone, not like we're having a hard time. 

Kaelas: You're too kind^^  I'm happy you like reading it.

Winter: I'm glad you can see the point of background. I'm probably scream at the author then pout :) Helpless Jack, every wild fan girl's dream…. :: drools:: lol, sorry about that! The reason I went to the movie 5 times was the see that scene 5 times over, I had to mention it :D

Tidbits: It's written in the stars! :: rearranges the stars to tell for a great future:: Yes… I agree, but I have to include the boring chapters, unfortunately.;D

Morissa: Why thank you. Isn't technology cool? Thanks for reviewing.

Icy Flame: Ah, my second return reviewer! :: tries to let a bit of air out of her inflated ego:: Thanks, I wasn't sure if it was snooze worthy or not^^ Ah, another person who has SEEN the sexual tension! Amazing, isn't it? Addicted? I feel special.

Thanks for reviewing, everyone! And as you may have noticed, there's double the reviews here then in my review box thingy. Apparently, some reviews got emailed to me but weren't posted. This makes me angry, as I have reviewed several stories but I fail to see my reviews anywhere, which means I have to go and review the ones I like again. Sigh. Anyone else have that problem?

Warnings: OOCness, het, (Will/Elizabeth, Norrington/Elizabeth) slash, (Jack/Will) and almost no Elizabeth bashing.

D/c: I don't own anything that is related to POTC

                                    Today, Tomorrow and Everything Between

            "Is all this lemon juice really necessary?" Will asked, glancing at endless jugs that he had been supplied with.

            "You do want Jack to get better, don't you?" Elizabeth asked. He frowned.

            "Well, yes, but does he really have to drink all of these?" His wife nodded, setting one down on the dresser.

            "In his lucid sates, try to make him drink as much as he can." Will snorted.

            "Lucid. Good one." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Did you manage to give any to him last night?"

"Yes. He drank about a jug. I told him it was rum." Will replied. His wife frowned, then threw a towel to her husband

            "I also want you to give him a bath."

            "What?" he asked, blinking. Elizabeth sighed.

            "You heard me."

            "But… why?"              

            "Everyone feels better after a good bath, don't you think?" she asked.

            "But he's a pirate. The last time be probably had a bath was in his childhood."

            "All the more reason." His wife replied, lending deft ears to the blacksmith's complaints. "Now, we'll use the bathtub in the washroom. I've already asked the maids to bring in the hot water, so everything's ready. You can drag Jack over there, and I'll stand guard."

            "Why do you get me to do your dirty work?" Will complained, once again finding himself glaring at the pirate.

            "Because I love you." Elizabeth replied, and Will just shook his head, smiling.

            "Alright." She smiled and pecked him on the cheek.

            "I knew you'd see it my way. Now, I'll go stand guard, and you rush Jack into the bathroom." Which, Will knew, was easier said then done.

            Elizabeth left the room and ran to check all the other ones in the hall. When she returned, she nodded towards him, grabbed some lemon juice and ran back out. Will sighed and pulled the unconscious Jack out of the covers and scooped him clumsily in his arms. However, as the next step he took nearly wiped both the pirates out, he decided to take a different course of action. He let go of Jack's legs and put the other man's arm around his shoulders. Will proceeded to hobble down the hall with him, close to Elizabeth's room. Elizabeth herself kept moving a bit ahead of them, checking to see if anyone else was around. Suddenly she giggled and turned around, clutching her lemon juice and smiling.

            "This really is kind of adventurous, isn't it?" Will groaned in protest, his burden becoming heavier with each wobbly step. Finally they reached the bathroom, and Will inched his way in, nearly dropping Jack as he set him down. 

Elizabeth hurriedly threw the juice in and closed the door behind them. Barely catching the jug before it crashed, Will just took it as a precautionary move, but was proved wrong when he heard a strong, male voice.

            "Mrs. Turner, are you alright?" Norrington questioned. Will sighed, knowing it was just going to be that much harder now.

            "Yes, I am, thank you." She replied as Will took off the Captain's remaining shirt. "I'm just a little… uh…" Jack unconsciously jerked, and his head hit the porcelain tub, causing a sickening thump.

            "Is someone in there, Mrs. Turner?" Will moved Jack a bit away from the tub as he lifted him up, trying to make a little noise as possible, and dumped him in the tub.

            "Uh, well, yes. Will is in there. William, you lying bastard! I know there's something going on! You can't hide from me forever!"

            Elizabeth pounded on the door angrily as she shouted to its two occupants. She was hoping Will would respond, but he remain silent. She turned to Norrington and sighed, and slid down the door in a desperate bid to look depressed. "I don't know what to do with him."

            "Well I suggest you not worry too much about him. If he truly is cheating on you, it will come out and he obviously isn't worth the time of day." He said, raising his voice so that Will would have a hard time missing it. Elizabeth smiled up again, small tears once again gathering in her eyes. 

            "Thank you Commodore Norrington, I know you're right. I just need some time to think things over."

            "Alright, Mrs. Turner." Elizabeth shook her head.

"Please, Commodore, call me Elizabeth."

"Yes, Mrs. Turn- Elizabeth." There was a small pause as Norrington racked his mind, trying to think of something to say. "Do you need something?" He tried. Elizabeth looked up, smiling.

            "Yes, in fact there is. I'd love it if you could get me some orange juice. A load of orange juice." 

            "How did you get this sick?" Will asked when he was sure Norrington was gone. He was currently scrubbing at Jack's spots and liaisons, try to wash away signs of the disease. Jack was a wreak, and it made Will feel a bit guilty for initially rejecting the man, even if it had been for his own good. After a while, the blacksmith accepted that he couldn't wash away Jack's illness, and he started to wash him a bit more gently, just trying to dislodge the dirt and grime. Will may have not been far off when he had guess the date of Jack's last bath. Within minutes, the water had turned a sooty colour and Will wasn't sure if he was getting the man clean or scrubbing more dirt into his skin.

            "Ow… Gods, what have I done?" Jack croaked, once again settling in to consciousness. "I'll stop drinking, I'll stop chasin' women, I'll settl' down and become an honest citizen, just stop this pain!"

            "Jack." Will demanded, and the pirate turned his head, wincing.

            "What? Now you're trying to molest me? That 'ardly seems fair, I am, after all, in your charge. Oh heathen Gods." He murmured as he lifted his arms on the sides of the tub.

            "Drink this." Will replied, ignoring the Captain's mumblings and holding up the jug of lemon juice. Jack frowned.

            "What're you trying to do now? That looks something vile mate." Jack wrinkled his nose as Will pushed it towards him.

            "It's rum. Magical rum that will make you feel better." Will replied sarcastically. "Elizabeth demands you drink it."

            "Well, if such a fair lady as herself recommends it, how can I refuse?" He smiled a bit as he took a long, steady drink from the pitcher. Will waited for a moment until Jack put it down.

            "Gah. That's refreshin' if nothing else. A nice, lemony taste." Will took the jug back, and was about to tell the pirate to finish up washing himself, when he realized the captain had been rendered unconscious again. Sighing, Will started to get him out of the bath.

            Elizabeth had waited patiently by the door as Will had attended to the ill man, and was anxious as he came back out, a towel wrapped around Jack's waist.

            "Did he wake up?" she demanded. Will nodded.

            "He drank a bit of the lemon juice but didn't say much more. Also, I think you might want to find a way to cover up the smell of salt in there. It's rather… putrid, compared to the rest of the house." Elizabeth nodded, going back in the bathroom to collect the jug while Will waited. She then led the two pirates back to their bedroom without further incident. 

Elizabeth frowned at the bottle of oil in her hands. It looked expensive. Of course, not by the Swann standards, but by the poorer measurements. However, the stench of the salt was beginning to overwhelm her, and she felt she had no choice. She had returned to the room a few minutes after leaving the two men, and she now understood what Will had been referring to. The scent, to her refined nose, wasn't so much a scent as a horrible stench that had to be stopped by any means necessary. So she dabbed some of the oil in her palms and started to smear the walls, tub and basically anything else she could find.

As she finished up her work, she noticed the room didn't smell a whole lot better. So, Elizabeth Turner, the bride of William Turner, went searching for other methods of odour removal. A few minutes later, she had found a sort of white-ish powder, some lotions, more oils and some sort of spray. She looked around, not sure if she was doing things the proper way. Then, the salt once again reached her nose and without a second thought she sprung into action.

About half an hour later, a butler found Mrs. Turner sitting desolated in a room with walls smeared in almost every product on the top floor. Elizabeth herself was covered in many of these things, and it made for quite a mess.

"Mrs. Turner?" he asked quietly after a few moments. "Do you require assistance?" She looked up, startled, then her eyes wandered to the floor again. 

"Yes, perhaps." The bulter entered the bathing room and helped the distressed woman to her feet, making a futile attempt to brush some of the mixture off.

"I'd also appreciate it if we kept this our little secret." She added, as he assisted her to her room.

            Will wasn't too fond of staying cooped up with a sick person, so he had decided to try to get out of the house for a while. However, when he went out of the house, he simply got ignored, slapped or yapped at. It was amazing how fast gossip spread through the small town, especially gossip concerning the blacksmith and the governor's daughter. Finding no place to elude the general populace, (even his usual place at the dock provided little solace) after a couple of hours he had decided to go back to the Swann estates. At least here if the servants said anything he could send them off on meaningless errands. However, almost as soon as he got in the door, he was assaulted by someone less expendable.

            "Mr. Turner." Commodore Norrington nodded as Will slowly closed the door behind him.

            "Good day, Commodore." He replied, then tried to walk upstairs, but found his path blocked by said man.

            "I'd like to talk with you on some very pressing matters."

            "Do these matters concern Elizabeth?" he asked somewhat wearily. Norrington nodded.

            "I'm aware she feels that you've been having an… extramarital affair." William nodded. "I don't know whether you are or not, but what I do know is you're hurting Elizabeth." Will opened his mouth to protest, but Norrington cut him off.

            "I gave you Elizabeth because I was under the assumption that you were the one she'd truly be happy with. However, you're making me reconsider my generosity."

            "Mr. Norrington, I hope you don't think I'm purposely trying to hurt her."

            "No, no. I know your character, Mr. Turner, and that's why I have my doubts about your affair. However, Elizabeth is in pain and if you make her suffer much longer I will make your life as, if not more, miserable then hers. Do you understand me Mr. Turner?"

            "I'm sorry, I can't control her emotions. If she feels a certain way I can't help it." Will replied somewhat callously, earning a disapproving glare from the Commodore.

            "I am well aware of that, William." For a moment, the Commodore's eyes flashed with a sort of pent up anger. The show of emotion startled the blacksmith. "However, I have seen no attempt to make amends, which I find inexcusable." Will was about to retort again when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Could it be…?

            "I understand." He finally replied, trying to get out as soon as he could.

            "Are you sure Mr. Turner? I would hate for there to be any… misunderstandings between us." 

"Crystal cl-" Suddenly, Jack appeared on the middle step, looking a little surprised at the sight of the two of them in the same breathing space. "Clear." He gulped, trying to look at Norrington and not Jack. However, he couldn't help but notice that Jack put a finger to his lips, and then put his hands together, nodding them in a sympathetic gesture.

            "Good, then I will go and check on Elizabeth, and I expect you to do the same in a while." He turned to go upstairs, but Will grabbed his shoulder and gripped it fairly hard, clearly surprising the Commodore.

            "I, uh, well…" he fumbled. "I've never played cards with you before." Jack silently crept back up the stairs while Norrington frowned at the blacksmith.

            "I haven't played cards with many people. I don't enjoy such trivial pleasures." 

            At that moment, Jack seemed to seize up and stumble on a step, giving out a low moan as he did so. Once again, the Commodore tried to turn around but was stopped by William Turner. The blacksmith, however, wasn't the most graceful creature by anyone's standards, and he wound up tripping them both, much to the amusement of Jack, who then quickly scrambled back up the stairs and out of sight.

            "Mr. Turner! What IS the meaning of this?" The Commodore exclaimed, as he and Will failed to pick themselves up.

            "I'm sorry, I'm very accident prone." He apologised as he and his companion continued to attempt to stand. Finally, both men got up and managed to stay standing, and Norrington hurried up the stairs and to his former bride-to-be. Will stood there for a moment, not sure if he really wanted to go up there and face the captain. However, he knew he'd have to sooner or later, and his anger was with him now.

            When Will got back to the room, Jack was sitting on the bed, happily grinning. Will frowned.

            "Why were you out in the house?" he asked. Jack laid back on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling.

            "Your girlfriend-"

            "Wife." Jack waved his words of with a swish of his hand.

            "Your bonnie lass, or what not. Anyway, that ones got a pretty good head on her shoulders. That lemon stuff really did the trick. I wanted to know if ye could get a bath of that stuff ready." Will frowned.

            "First of all, no. Second of all, could you be more careful form now on? If you're caught then we're all dead."

            "C'mon, young William, I've never gotten a proper tour of the grand," Jack made a sweeping hand movement as he sat up, giving Will a innocent gaze.  "Swann estates. Besides, how have you kept me here, thus far?"

            "We had a fight where she banished me to the guestroom, and she told the maids not to go in here so I would wallow him my own filth." Jack suddenly grinned widely.

            "Trouble 'tween you and the Missus, eh?"

            "It was a fake fight, to save your sorry pirate arse." He reminded Jack. The pirate simply gazed at Will, an amused smile coming across his face.

            "Whatever you say luv." The pirate simply got under the covers of the bed and wormed around a bit before finding a comfortable position. "However, if you ever need any advice on the lady folk, you know who to see." And the pirate slipped into the realm of sleep.

            Will, finding himself frustrated at the small bit of talk they had done, decided to leave Jack be and find Elizabeth. He hadn't actually planned on going to her tonight, despite Norrington's threats, but Will found himself walk down the hallway to his wife.

            "Elizabeth?" He called through the door, knocking lightly. "May I come in?"

            "Of course." He opened the door and silently closed it behind him. Elizabeth was in her nightdress, sitting at her desk, her hand on a drawer.

            "Jack was up and about." Elizabeth raised her eyebrows.

            "You mean he was roaming around the house?" Will nodded.

            "He didn't get very far. He came in the middle of a scolding I got from Norrington, and went back up stairs quickly. When I got the Commodore off me, I went up to see him." There was a slightly pause before Will continued. "Apparently the lemon juice is working very well." he admitted, looking down a bit. Elizabeth smiled, but decided to let it pass.

            "So where is Jack now?"

            "Sleeping. I just left him there. We talked a bit. The man is unbelievably frustrating."

            "He can be like that when you're in a bad mood." Elizabeth agreed. "So, what did Norrington talk to you about?"

            "He threatened me. He said that if I didn't make amends with you quickly, he'd make my life a living hell. So I'd appreciate it if you could act a bit pleased with me until Jack leaves." Will winced, and Elizabeth laughed.

            "Yes, he came up to see me and said you'd be up later. He's actually a very kind man, if you get to know him." Will nodded.

            "I know, I've seen his kindness in action. However, I just find him… very… standoffish." Mrs. Turner nodded.

            "Yes, he is quite." Standing up, she said "Keep feeding the lemon juice to Jack, and he should be alright in a bit. And I don't care if you actually want him to get better, you are taking care of him." Her expression was serious, but she smiled at his surprised features. "I know you'll take good care of him Will, whether you like him right now or not." Then she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "Good night."

            "Goodnight, my fair lady." They both smiled and Will left, feeling surprisingly happy.

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First of all, I confess I am not pleased with this chapter first of all for the amazing amount of historical inaccuracies, and for the general temperment of this chapter. That's why it's so late, so the next chapter should be out in 3 or 4 days.

That one was a bit short, but Jack really takes a central role in the next chapter, which means slashy goodness is on its way! Never fret.

Also, I'd like to add I'm trying to portray both Norrington and Elizabeth in a positive-yet-human light, because they tend to get their fair share of bashing. Also, I feel that Norrington's actions at the end of the movie were very under appreciated by some in the POTC community.

Now, to end my little rant, Chapter 4 Teaser

"I'll have you know, Captain Sparrow, Will is hardly a eunuch." Jack raised his eyebrows as her words treaded on familiar territory.

            "Well, I guess I'll have to see for meself then, eh mate?"


	4. Make Over

Morissa: Ah, a return reviwer. Your far too kind :) And stop hurting yourself! Please! I need reviewers :P And I took what you said into consideration, and slashed the chapter up a bit more then I was going to, although I'm afraid they won't be doing… stuff…in all those places.

Winter 19: I know, I know. I COULD have done so much more with the bath scene, but I didn't think an unconscious Jack would be any fun^^ Don't worry, this chapter has small bits of slashy goodness :) And I realized Norrington just has a habit of… showing up, so I give an explanation in a future chapter.

Jehan's Muse: Why, thank you! :: blushes happily. Frowns as she reads on:: Mayflower…hm. Damn… can't change the timeline either… thanks for letting me know! And maybe Elizabeth and the Commodore will get together… or maybe I'll just kill them both off. Buahahahaahahahaha!!! Sorry, power trip, couldn't resist :) Horay! I think Norrington was the sexiest man in the movie. I'm sorry, but power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. I agree, Norrington needs to be slashed. I personally like Norrington/Will. I always giggle when I hear Gillette's name, because I think of the shaving cream and stuff. I made you want het? I'm talented! :: red light goes on as her head expands::

Icy Flame: I know! Jack is awesome, but impossible to write. I know, I didn't think pirates would be big into cleanliness. I was on a boat for five days and they told us to get a bucket and pour that water on our hair if we needed to wash. Some did, but I figured it would be immediate brain freeze. Don't worry, slashiness is contained in the following words :D Thanks for your oh too kind words ^^

.....................: Aw, thanks. I didn't want to let anyone down. Never ever ever? Oh yeah! I have a cult following! :: ..................... gets weirded out and leaves:: Wait, I mean, ah oh sh*t. Thanks, I was worried about all the flames I saw myself getting. And I have enough little egos for three somebodys! :D

A Fan: Wow. Thanks. I'm happy people liked that chapter. I agree, Norrington isn't cruel, he's just a bit dedicated to the law. Lol, I noticed some people do that, too. However, I might be going out the other way and making the story excruciatingly slow. I hope not, but let me know if it starts to get.. ughy. And Jack has his own share of time in here. And maybe they'll get together… or maybe Elizabeth will run off with Gillette and leaving Norrington broken hearted and depressed. :P

PrettyPixie: Thanks, I'm happy I'm not delusional^^ I agree, Jack was just kind of 'Umm… let's see. Nice legs, nice arse, nice, nice chest…' "Nice hat." I agree, that scene just begged for slash. I'm thinking we have a slasher working behind the scenes :)

Christina: Your first? On me? Wow. I'm honoured ^^ And thanks, I didn't want to demonize them like some people do. (Not that there's anything wrong with it once and a while) And yes, there are small morsals of slashy goodness in this chapter, never fear!

Tidbits: Ah! Another return reviewer! I think you're my 4th now. You all make me want to cry. And the story blushes and accepts your proposal, but can't promise total monogamy. :D

Mel: I've seen it five times too! Alright, high five! And the next chapter awaits, madam…

Thanks for all your reviews! I'm surprised my story is getting as much (positive) attention as it is, but it's amazing, and you guys really make my week^^

Here's chapter 4:

Warnings: OOCness, het, (Will/Elizabeth, Norrington/Elizabeth) slash, (Jack/Will) and almost no Elizabeth bashing.

D/c: I don't own POTC and have no contact or affiliation with the creators.

                        Today, Tomorrow and Everything Between

            A week had passed since Jack had compromised his own safety and that of his protectors, and the situation wasn't getting any better. The lemon juice had worked wonders, and soon Jack had, in the last seven days, made almost a complete recovery. The spots and bruises had nearly disappeared, his joints no longer felt aflame when he moved, and he never felt tired. It was great to him, but rather a pain to his hosts, namely Will. He was constantly chasing after the pirate, and he was sure Jack enjoyed watching him squirm at the odd glances he got from the maids, and his anger when Jack wouldn't comply.

            Jack's behaviour, however, had confused the blacksmith. The pirate wasn't stupid, he knew one wrong move and it was back to the gallows. Then why did he continue to engage in such risky behaviour? And most of all, did the pirate ever shut up?

            "And did I tell you 'bout the time we sank that ship with one shot?"

            "Five times already, Jack."

            "Aye, can't get enough o' that one either, can you? I'll tell it again."

            A sigh. Then "Jack. Shut up. It must be past midnight, and one of us has to work tomorrow."

            "Thankfully it ain't me, is it now?" And while Jack continued to happily recant his pirate excursions, Will groaned. His companion had done this for the last three nights in a row, and Will had nearly fallen asleep while making a sword. The smell of his long hair burning had woken him up, and a small part of his hairstyle had been charred.  Not that he was complaining. It was better then his head.

            "Jack, you got the bed, isn't that enough for you?"

            "So then Anamaria says 'Why don't we just try to take out the crew?' and I says 'No, I know what we'll do!' So then I says to Cotton…" Will nearly cried as he buried his head in his pillow and tried to find some rest.

            "Why're you getting' up so early?" a drowsy Jack asked Will, who had just finished putting on his boots.

            "Because I have to go to work. We went over this last night." He replied tiredly.

            "C'mon lad. Surely you'd be jus' as happy lettin' the lass's father take care of you."

            "I enjoy my work." Will replied flatly. "At least when I've had enough rest." Jack shrugged.

            "Alrigh'. If you're sure. But if ye want, you can always come join me." Jack grinned a bit devilishly and Will's face sprang into a look of contempt. At that moment, the door opened slowly and the not-yet-powered face of Elizabeth Turner peaked into their room.

            "May I come in?" she asked. Will blinked in shock for a second.

            "S-sure." He replied, and she walked in with her housecoat on, glancing around a bit oddly.

            "I hope you don't mind me intruding on you two at this time in the morning." She told them.

            "Nonsense, Mrs. Turner. It's ne'er too early fo' the company of a beautiful woman." Elizabeth smiled slightly, but kept her eyes locked with William's.

            "I just wanted to see you before you left for work… and talk with Jack. It's been a while." Will nodded .

            "Thank you. You just made my morning a considerable lot better." With this, a small smile lit up her face, and Will felt the glow in spite of himself and grinned back.

            "I hope you have a good day. Maybe I'll come visit you." Elizabeth said softly.

            "I liked that." Will replied. His words were followed by a big sigh from a watching Jack.

            "That was a touching moment. Very. I think another tooth rotted out." The pirate told them. "Ah, yes, it's just floating around there…" Will's good mood instantly vanished.

            "Be quiet pirate."

            "Will." Elizabeth frowned. "He is a guest in our house. Don't insult him."

            "But he…" Will's words trailed off at the look on Elizabeth's face. "But I…" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, daring him to try her. Will sighed, giving up. 

            "Yes dear." Elizabeth smiled and pecked Will on the cheek.

            "I'll see both of you later." And with that Elizabeth left the room, leaving the two men to their own devices, which was never a good thing if you were stuck with Captain Jack Sparrow.

            "I bit whipped there, I see." The pirate observed. Will frowned.

            "What?"

            "With the 'he's a guest' and your 'alright.' Ye poor married men." Jack shook his head sadly. "Glad I never settled down if that's what 'appens after."

            "At least I don't have half the navy out for me." Will retorted, lacing up his boots.

            "Aye, but that's half the fun!" Will growled.

            "It would be greatly appreciated if you could refrain from insulting me under the duration of your stay."  Jack shrugged.

            "It don't matter anyway, Whelp. You've obviously got marriage problems." With this Will frozen, and a grin crossed the Captain's face.

            "What… you… but… you're full of it." Jack shook his head.

            "Well, you mighta convinced me other wise if you hadn't practic'lly told me righ' there." Will frowned.

            "Sure Jack." With that Will left, feeling Jack's wide grin following him. Even after he had left, he felt Jack's eerie presence.

            Almost three hours later Will still found him vexed with the pirate, despite the hard, repetitive work he was engaged in. How dare did Jack come in and make judgements on their relationships, based on nothing! He had no place to be there, it was only because of Elizabeth's generosity that he was alive. What a…pirate.

            William sighed as he put down his last sword. Mr Brown, his master, had passed away a few months ago, and that left William pretty much on his own. Things really hadn't changed that much. Will was still alone in his work, and the work itself hadn't decreased in quality or quantity. The only true change had been that the younger blacksmith hadn't had to look after the man.

            Will had debated on moving Jack out here, but once again Elizabeth had put her foot down. She had insisted Jack needed to be looked after for most of the day, especially during the evening hours. Even now that Jack wasn't sick she demanded someone look after the man whenever possible. It had gotten to be a bit… annoying. Jack had gotten to be a bit annoying.

Passes like the ones made in the bedroom weren't unusual. Usually Jack would make them, Will would make a face and Jack would distract them or Elizabeth would come in. It frustrated the young man. He was trying to fix his relationship with Elizabeth! Jack wasn't a distraction he needed.

Yet, Will found he couldn't help how when Jack casually touched him, the spot seemed to warm. He also couldn't help how he held his breath when they made eye contact for too long, or when Jack got close, and he was reminded of the sea.

The blacksmith chose not to think about that. Jack wasn't the type of man who had ever held down a serious relationship in his life, and he doubted the pirate was about to start. Besides, he had Elizabeth, which was worth more then some simple one-night fling with Jack. Or at least, what he was supposed to have with her.

Sighing again, Will started to clean up so he could rush back to his failing marriage and flirtatious pirate. Fun.

However, as he started off Will realized he heard a very familiar voice talking fairly loudly.

"Have I ever told you fine ladies about the time I sunk a ship with one shot?" Horrified, Will stared in the direction of the voice and to be sure, Jack Sparrow was talking. He had managed to gather his personal effects and was chatting up a storm with about four women. Without a thought Will angrily stormed over, determined to separate the pirate's head from his body.

"Jack." Will growled.

"Ah, dear William. I've met these fine ladies 'ere an' I was jus' telling them a tale or two." Jack said cheerfully, casually sliding an arm around one of them. The blacksmith glared.

"Story time is over." And with that, he grabbed the pirate's arm angrily and started to drag the surprising complacent Jack with him.

"Bye, lasses. I'll be seeing you about, eh?" The women giggled as Jack grinned and returned his attention to Will. "Luv, if you wanted to hear my stories this bad you only had to ask." Will was too infuriated with the pirate to answer, and instead pulled him not-too-gently into his shop. Letting go, he searched around for a cloak, or something to disguise the pirate with. Finally he settled to an old, tattered sheet that he used during the colder months.

"Nice little place you got here." Jack told him, eyeing the dirty, shabby walls. "Is it always this well kept?"

"Because of someone I haven't been able to tidy as much as I'd like to." Will replied angrily, thrusting the sheet at Jack. The pirate eyed it curiously.

"Hey, I think you lost something." He held out the sheet to the blacksmith, and Will sighed.

"No, it's a disguise to get us back into the house." Jack shrugged, throwing it over his shoulders and fiddling with the corners.

"Not a very good disguise, is it?" Silently, Will agreed. However, without the kohl around his eyes, the pirate did manage to look a considerable bit different, Will finally noticed.

"Well, if you hadn't run out of the manor we wouldn't be having this problem." Will replied curtly, and opened the door, motioning for Jack to go through. Jack, however, seemed very argumentative. 

"C'mon mate, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." The older man retaliated as he sauntered up to the boy, placing a gentle hand on Will's shoulder. Gazing into the blacksmith's eyes, he continued. "You can't expect to keep me cooped up in that ol' room all day now, can you? I've sailed the seven seas, I've taken down sips with one shot, I've overrun entire settlements without firing a single shot, I've-"

"Got no sense of gratitude." Will snorted as he broke the spell and started to walk. "If word gets out that Jack Sparrow…"

"Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack replied, stopping the boy aginst as he yanked back on his shoulder.

"has found his way back to Port Royal," he continued, ignoring the pirate. "the entire town Will be in a Jack hunt, organized by Norrington himself." Jack smiled.

"Aye, you forget one thing lad. I'm-"

"Captain Jack Sparrow. You can't hide behind that forever." Jack shrugged, figuring there was little use in arguing with the boy. However, Will didn't want to shut up. "What kind of response is that, anyway? You think your special because you've broken laws and slept around. While that may work for some people, normal people won't go for that. In fact…" Jack had a notoriously short attention span, and was bored of Will's complaints at that time. So he decided to shut him up. "And then you go and-" Jack went up, grabbed Will around the neck and pulled him into a long, deep kiss.

Will, entirely unprepared for the attack, did nothing. For a few moments, he just stood there, shocked at the audacity of the other man. Jack thrust his tongue into Will's mouth, teasing gently around his teeth in a quest for access. The only thing the blacksmith could process was 'this feels good.' With that, he started to numbly kiss back, allowing Jack's tongue into his mouth.

Jack's hands started to wander along Will's body, first up and down his back, then he lifted the blacksmith's shirt, feeling along the taunt muscle there. Will groaned into his partner's mouth, his hands clutching around Jack's arms, following their movements. Finally, he dipped his fingers into the waist of Will's pants, giving the younger man's tongue a nip.

 And as if he had suddenly reawakened, Will pulled back into reality, almost tripping over himself to get away. When he looked up, touching his lips disbelievingly, the pirate wore a knowing smile. 

"It seems Jack sparrow was special enough for you, eh?" Will glared at him, feeling angry and ashamed. Trying not to do something rash, Will stormed out of the shop, a smug pirate following behind him.

"So you decided to go for a joy walk?" Mrs. Turner asked, eyeing the pirate suspiciously.

"I did, but you've got to understand…" he began but Elizabeth cut him off.

"The fact remains, Jack, that you disobeyed us, could have gotten yourself, as well as Will and I, hanged, and you are in total being completely unremorseful. So, there is only one answer, obviously." Will smiled a bit. He had told Elizabeth the entire story, save for the last bit. He knew it was wrong to take joy in another's suffering, but he couldn't help being a bit enthusiastic about Jack's upcoming reprimand. However, what Elizabeth said next surprised him, as well as the pirate in front of her.

"We shall have to make you a disguise." For a moment, there was silence in the room. Then, a slow steady grin crossed Jack's face.

"You ARE a kind woman, aren't you? I'm being to see what the whelp married ye for."

"But Elizabeth…" Will growled a bit, trying to think of words that wouldn't make Elizabeth give him another verbal lashing in front of Jack. When no such thoughts came fourth, he requested they speak alone.

Stepping outside Jack and Will's room, Elizabeth looked up expectantly. Will didn't disappoint.

"You can't give the man a disguise!" he exclaimed. "He'll run all over the place and get all of us imprisoned!" Elizabeth stared at him coolly for a moment before speaking.

"Jack is a pirate, Will. He's used to living out adventures on the open sea with no boundaries or restrictions, living only by his own word. This is abnormal for him, for anyone, to be cooped up in one place for so long. You have to allow the man for a bit of freedom. Besides, you act as though he is incapable of thought. Jack Sparrow is a very intelligent man, even if he doesn't seem like it all the time."

"Yes, but his luck has a habit of running against him." The blacksmith protested, but his wife simply leaned against the wall, in a very unlady-like manner, and the forming of a smile played upon her lips.

"Well, Mr. Turner, if you feel up to the challenge, I'll send you to chaperone him on his little outings." She pushed herself off the wall, and came standing very close to her husband, looking up defiantly. He gulped a little, unsure of where it was going.

"But-but I can't be there all the time." He replied. "I have work, and then I have to spend time with you, and dinners with your family and…" he trailed off at the smirk she gave him. Swinging her hips a little, she walked back into the room with the Captain, stopping once to throw a brief smirk at him. Sighing, he followed her, beaten once more. Spending time with Sparrow seemed to change her, and Will wasn't sure if he was happy with his wife's refound sense of adventure, or if he wished Jack had never blessed them with his presence.

Jack was being ignored, and it made him uncomfortable.

He wasn't being ignored in the sense that the Turners weren't talking to him, but in the sense that they had their backs turned and were mumbling a vague argument, in which Jack could make out few of the words. He had to think of them both as Turner now. His stomach squeezed for a moment before he allowed his breathing to return to normal and tried to force the feeling away.

At any rate, Jack didn't like being left out. When he wasn't the centre of attention, he couldn't be sure what the other people were thinking, and if he had learned one thing in his years it was that not understand other people was a huge folly. So it came as no surprise to him when he had the sudden desire to divert their attention back to him again.

            "What're you planning, land lubbers?" He asked, getting right between Will and Elizabeth. They both looked at him for a moment before Elizabeth carried on.

            "We're debating on what to do to get you a new look." She replied. "We're also debating on what alibi you should go by."

            "Well, I hope you haven't got anything too drastic planned." He replied. "I'd rather keep my goods, unlike young William 'ere."

            "I'll have you know, Captain Sparrow, Will is hardly a eunuch." Jack raised his eyebrows as her words treaded on familiar territory.

            "Well, I guess I'll have to see for meself then, eh mate?" and with that, he gave Will a pat on his butt and grinned, feeling at ease with their less-then-civilized conversation. Will, on the other hand, put on an odd look that appeared to be a cross between apprehension and fear. Whatever it was, Jack didn't care to sit down and interpret this look, because once again the woman was on her warpath.

            "So, I was thinking Jack, that you should loose the beard."

            "What did I say about the goods darling?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

            "I can't believe you're doing this." Jack complained. Once again, the two men were sitting in the bathroom, this time Will with a razor in hand.

            "Believe me, I can't either." The blacksmith replied grimly, washing off the blade with some water. "I'd much rather you dressed up in Elizabeth's clothes and braided each other's hair, but we don't always get what we want."

            "Aye, you _would_ like that, wouldn't you?" Ignoring the irate pirate, Will got close to him with the razor. "Is this really necessary?" Jack tried again. Will silently agreed with him. He found the pirate's look somewhat… pleasing to the eye, and would have preferred not to change it. However, Will knew Jack couldn't run around looking like Jack, and this was the best alternative.

            "If you want to see the light of day for the next three weeks yes." Will replied. Jack snorted.

            "If that's what your lady love told you." Seeing his comment got nowhere with the boy, he added, "It's a shame she has so much control over you. We could have a little fun, eh?" Once again, Will ignored his comments, and simply grabbed the pirate's chin, forcing it up.

            "Not too rough luv." Jack muttered, trying to breath a bit deeper. "Let's save that for another time." Will's hand clenched involuntarily for a moment as he remembered the previous day. He remembered how close they had been, how he could feel every moment that Jack made, and the feeling of Jack's breath on his face…

            Jerking the pirate's head, he started to make small strokes along Jack's chin. Slowly his beard started to shave off, long hairs dangling down as the beads held them in place. Will felt the pirate's uneasiness and grinned. The ultimate revenge.

            Jack sniffed a little as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. It wasn't necessarily a bad look, but it was entirely different from what the pirate was. Which, he guessed, he was supposed to be. However, he found himself missing his old look very much, and it was only going to get worse from here. The pirate found himself wishing for a nice bottle of rum to wash all the unpleasantness down with.

            "Now, we need to remove the beads from your hair." Elizabeth said, giving the cleanly shaven man a quick once over. "You'll also need to comb your hair, both of which I'm sure William will gladly attend to." Will muttered something under his breath, which didn't sound very polite, and Jack grinned. He was getting through to the kid.

            Jack emitted a light growling, which almost resembled purring, as Will tried to comb out the tangled mess of pirate hair. Despite getting it wet, the knots of tangled hairs were almost too much for the mere blacksmith to bear. He thought Elizabeth would be much better suited to the job, because he wasn't sure that Jack would have a scalp by the time he was through. The man in question, however, seemed to be enjoying himself.

            "That's nice luv." Jack groaned, stretching his spine out a bit as he moved around. This didn't please his younger counterpart.

            "My name's isn't 'luv', it's Will. Will Turner." Jack gazed at Will out of the corner of his eye as the blacksmith started to yank a bit harder on his locks.

            "Whatever you say luv."

            "And stop moving!" Will exclaimed, giving a particularly hard stroke with the brush.

            "Ah!" Jack breathed, trying to control the outburst of pain. "That wasn't very nice."

            "Well stop it then."

            "Stop what?"

            "Being you!" Will exclaimed with a frustrated growl. He expected more protest from the pirate, but found himself shocked when no arguments came fourth. Jack simply sat there, waiting for Will to continue as the blacksmith gazed at him. Feeling like he might have stepped over the line, Will resumed his task with gentler, more patient strokes.

            "I'm done with him." Will announced, bursting tiredly into the room with an almost unrecognisable Jack behind him. Elizabeth did a double take as Will climbed into bed and under the covers. This wasn't the Jack she had known five minutes ago. He was clean-shaven, no beads or braids or whatnot were in his hair, and it was all combed out. He had very fuzzy hair, from so much time on the sea, but he looked so… different.

            The sounds of Will's deep breathing told them both he had fallen asleep. For a moment two pairs of eyes trailed along him, taking in his every breath and movement. Finally, Elizabeth broke her hold and motioned to Jack.

            "Come on." She said a bit quietly, making her way out of the door. After she got a few feet, she realized Jack wasn't with her, and frowned a bit curiously. Retracing her steps, she watched for a moment as Jack stood, gazing at Will's sleeping form, an odd look in his eyes. It looked like a cross between wonder an apprehension.

            "Jack?" she asked quietly. This seemed to snap his concentration, because he looked at her, startled, but then made a blank face. "Come on. I think I have the perfect outfit for you."

            As she started along the path to the bedroom that she and Will shared, she heard the man's sound footsteps echoing hers. She was a bit worried. Jack was acting strangely. Maybe he was getting a new attitude with the new look, she mused.

            Leading him into their private quarters, he stretched out on the bed, gazing at the wall emptily as Elizabeth rummaged through her husband's clothing.

            "Here now." She tried, laying out some breeches and a shirt before him. "I think you're about the same size, so it shouldn't matter." Jack nodded, accepting the pants and shirt without a word. This really worried the fair skinned woman. Jack was usually so… talkative, so full of life. Now he seemed remorseful and empty. Determined, however, not to rub her nose in it, Elizabeth simply made the pirate try on suit after suit until she was satisfied with her choice.

            "I like that one. Yes, that one will more then do." Elizabeth smiled as she looked at Jack. "Excellent." For a moment, there was yet again silence as Elizabeth picked up random articles of clothing and shoved then back in the drawer. Then, Jack finally spoke.

            "Elizabeth…" he began slowly, and the woman mentioned stared, a bit surprised as the pirate tried to summon the words. "If you were going to… try to…" he made several hand gestures as he took a deep breath. "to get a man to like you, how would you go about it?" Elizabeth's eyebrows widened in surprise, but she put her clothes down and went to sit on the bed by Jack.

            "Well, it depends if I wanted him for the night or for the rest of my life." She said, gazing into Jack's semi surprised eyes. She had a feeling that she knew what this was about, and felt her heart twinge in remorse. She didn't want to let go, but knew that it must be done.

            "If I wanted him for the night, I would flirt with him, get him drunk and be done with it. If I were truly interested then I would flirt with him a bit each day, try my best to be around him as much as I could without being intrusive, and try to build memories with him. Pleasant ones. I'd also notice the small things about him, as well as his larger accomplishments. Maybe he got a hair cut, or dressed up especially nice." Jack nodded, looking down for a moment.

            "How would you know if he were… er… interested?"

            "Well," Elizabeth took a moment to think about it. "He'd look at you when he thinks you're not looking, he'll do nice things for you, like bring you flowers or notice how nice you look every day." Elizabeth sighed, drowning in her own romantic world. Once again Jack looked down, nodding as he took in the information.

            "Great." His head moved back up into Elizabeth's eyesight, and he looked a bit startled for a moment as Elizabeth knowingly smiled. He eyed the room, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I'll pass it on to Anamaria." At Elizabeth's surprised and questioning look, he waved his hand around, circling it. "She's been going after the cabin boy. Nice lad, but I think he's a eunuch." For a moment, Elizabeth simply stared, then she laughed.

"C'mon. Let's get your ends trimmed."

            Will was awakened by the gentle knocking on the door. The usual 'Dinner is ready, sir' was announced and Will silently followed the footsteps with his mind until he could hear them no more. He then turned his attentions to his room. The first thing he noticed was that he was alone. He must have slept later then he had realized. So he hoped out of bed, straightened his clothing and hair, and proceeded to head to dinner.

            "So I says 'Governor, if you're not going to give me the donkey, give me the wife instead.'" An uproarious laugh was issued from the dining table as Mr. Swann banged his fists against the table. Will carefully crept into the room to see an over humoured Mr. Swann, a nervous Elizabeth and a disdainful Norrington. What truly caught his attention, however, was the new Jack. Will hadn't really looked at the man when he had finished the facial work, but he had changed. Elizabeth had cut his hair to make it fairly shorter. Instead of falling down his back like it used to, Jack's hair ended up a bit past his shoulders, but was done up in a pony tail like his own. All in all, Jack looked close to a frizzy haired, deeply tanned version of himself.

            "Ah, William! I haven't seen you since I went to England! How are you?" Jack cried, bouncing up from his chair and rushing to the lad. Will blinked for a moment before tentatively returning the hug.

            "Hello again, um…" Will muttered, trying to get a name out of him.

            "I remember the days when it was just us two: Will Turner and John Smith." Will nodded, stunned at the unoriginality of the name. "You're looking good in your old age, Turner." Now was the last time to let go and make it look like a friendly hug. However, John Smith seemed to have no understanding of the difference between friendly and intimate, and continued to hug Will, and even dared to grate his hips against the blacksmith. Finally he broke the embrace, leaving Will mortified. Elizabeth looked a bit surprised and Commodore Norrington looked suspicious. Mr. Swann didn't seem to notice.

            "Now Will, you never mentioned a John Smith before." Mr. Swann exclaimed.

            "Yes, well, it was years ago. I left when I was 15." Jack explained with a flitty hand motion. Too much like Jack for Will's taste.

            "Where did you go to, lad?" he asked, and Jack proceeded to engage them in thriving tales of adventure and mystery, which didn't quite add up and once again sounded like Jack Sparrow's tall tales. He managed to keep Mr. Swann amused until dessert, but Norrington never seemed to completely give into John. Finally John let out an over exaggerated yawn, stretching out in the chair.

            "Well, lady and gentlemen, nice meeting you all. I think I'll be retiring now." Mr. Swann's expression of adoration turned into one of slight discontent.

            "Ah, I don't know if we have a room open right now. A lady friend is staying in one room, another is being redecorated and Will is in the last one." The Governor muttered, flushing slightly. Jack grinned.

            "It's not problem. Will and I used to shack up all the time, eh mate?" Jack winked and nudged Wills side, once again leaving Will terrified. Trying to downplay the situation, Will let out a laugh.

            "The good times." Jack grinned at this and raised his glass. Will bumped it carefully, and they both took a drink.

            "Well, I'll be leaving you now. Will, come show me our room?" And with that, the two men left the table. The governor turned to his daughter, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

            "What a funny man. How long will he be staying Elizabeth?"

            "2 more weeks." 

            "Delightful." Mr. Swann swooned. "If he wants to stay longer, don't hesitate in letting him room. Why is he here, anyway?"

            "To see Will." She replied. "They used to be very good friends."

            "Ah, good good. Will he be dining with us often?"

            "I don't know." And with that, she took a large, unlady like swing of wine, a bit unnerved about her father's relentless questioning. "I think I shall retire too. It's been a wonderful evening." And before she could be questioned further, Elizabeth all but ran from the room.

            "So? How did you like my performance?" Jack asked, grinning as he propped his sitting form up between the bed and the wall. Will frowned, getting his cot ready.

            "You seemed too much like…you. Mr. Swann may have been easy to fool, but Norrington will not be."

            "Well, luv, I'd hate to say it but you don't deserve an upstanding encore either." Will sighed, not wanting to argue, and as he finished setting up the bed, he change in the closet, came out and turned out the lights.

            "You know, I really meant what I said about you looking good." Will's eyes stared out into darkness for a moment as his mind registered the words. But by then, the pirate had fallen asleep.

            "So? How did you like my performance?" Commodore Norrington's knuckles stopped short of rapping on the door. He had come to see if John would be need anything else, and to try to get a possible date of departure, but this suddenly sounded a bit more interesting.

            "You seemed too much like…you. Mr. Swann may have been easy to fool, but Norrington will not be." For a moment, the Commodore was surprised. Will considered him a threat. How, in an odd way, complimentary.

            "Well, luv, I'd hate to say it but you don't deserve an upstanding encore either." He continued to listen at the door. He heard some sounds, then silence and the light beneath the door vanished. Then,

            "You know, I really meant what I said about you looking good." He listened a bit more, but nothing else reached his ears. Norrington frowned, striding form the doors back down to his own room. It appeared things weren't quite what they seemed.

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I'm sorry this chapter is so long. It was two chapters, but I started doing chapter planning, and the story was getting a bit long, so I'm putting chapters together now. Every once in a while you might get a long chapter like this one.

Chapter 5 Teaser:

"Y'know, I'm happy to see you, Jack." Will said, sobering up a bit. Jack's ears perked a bit. "I know I've been really really really…"

            "Angry, a pain in the arse, ungrateful and petty?" Jack asked. Will blinked, trying to understand the words. Finally, he nodded.

            "I guess."

            "I hadn't noticed."


	5. Sadistic Love

Alright, chapter 5.

Carolinus Took: Absolutely! I wouldn't dream of doing anything else. :D

AnonymousGirl: More coming right up. I agree, J/W slash is some of the best slash out there.

plumsy321: Thank you! A craftswoman always likes to know her work is appreciated :)

Jehan's Muse: I like Jack's flittiness. You never know quite what he wants (Which will become a bit of in issue for them^^)  Gay pirates… even saying it sends a chill up my spine. And Norrington DOES need an ego boost. You know, despite all the 'Jack vs. Will' debates, I found Norrington to be the sexiest man in the film. Why? Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac :D

Elizabeth Sparrow: I'm sorry I hate teasers too. I'm such a hypocrite. But I did do some research, but I find I get frustrated if I research for more then 5 minutes at a time. ^^

Tidbits: I know!!!!! I was so happy with the slashy bits. I'd like to thank you all for helping me add them in. And the story is eagerly planning  said wedding, and wonders if you think a traditional white wedding is good or if you could be swayed for a passion pink. 

"…": Ah, alas. I'd like two Wills. I'd have a whole litter of them if I could. But all us fan girls are stuck sharing just the one. Sigh. And flamers need attention, except they can't write well enough to stick some fan fiction up and/or they are respectable authors who just really hate said story. I hate the second ones, they're hard to make fun of. And I agree, some people need lives.

Suga Hi: Thanks! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

Crab Apple Fairy: I'm glad I can make a somewhat convincing case. It kind of bugs me when there's no actual reason for Jack and Will to get together. I hope this chapter lives up to the rest of the story.

Icy Flame: Thanks a whole lot! I was nail biting nervous about my portrayal of Jack, but I've seen no flames yet. That sounds terrible. Most of the time when we go camping there's some sort of shower near by. Fortunately my hair is really dry so I don't HAVE to wash it a lot. I'm happy I'm doing a note worthy job of characterization. I find that's a major fall out point, no matter how well a fic is written if the characters are completely changed it's not readable. I find Norrington/Gillette is a more common pairing. I laugh because I think of the shaving gel, but Norrington DOES need to get some. And no problem, rambling is fine.

Holly: We'll have to wait until the next chapter to find that out. Thanks, I hope I can make this a bit interesting for readers^^

Once again, thanks for your reviews and comments. Without you guys, I'd be like Jack with the Pearl, but no crew. And my ego would be much smaller^^

Usual warnings apply.

D/c: I don't own POTC or anything related

                                    Chapter 5

            "Come ON, young William." Jack begged, sprawled out on the bed languidly. "This is the boringest place ever." It had been a week since Jack had gotten his disguise, and he, once again, was bored.

            "Yes, well, I'd like to help you Jack." Will replied. "But I really can't. It's been a while since Elizabeth and I have gone out together due to unwanted interruptions." He eyed the pirate, but Jack didn't seem to notice. "So we'll be back later."

            "Can I go with you?" Silence greeted his request and Jack frowned. "Don't make me beg boy."

            "Jack, you're not coming and that's final." With that, Will jammed his hat with the large feather on his head. Jack groaned.

            "At least leave me the hat."

            "Go talk with Governor Swann." Jack glared at the younger man.

            "If I have to tell the single shot story one more time…"

            "Will, are you ready to go?" Elizabeth's voice came through the door.

            "Yes." Will strode across the room to get the door, but Jack beat him to it, casually leaning against the doorframe.

            "Well, your husband is a cold bastard so I've come to you for help." Will groaned, slopping down on the bed in defeat. "Would you mind terribly if I were to… trail long behind you? I don't want to interrupt your, ah… romantic interlude, but it's dreadfully boring and stuff being locked up here. I'd be really quiet, you'll hardly even notice I'm there." Elizabeth's face opened up into a smile.

            "Yes, that would be a great idea. Will, isn't that a great idea?" Will simply groaned.

            "Ah, I remember this place." Jack exclaimed, an hour later. "I went here once, expecting it to be a fishery, and…" Truth be told, Jack hadn't shut up at any point within that hour. While Elizabeth seemed fascinated with his tales, Will was found to be irritated and angry.

            "So, how did you escape?" Elizabeth breathed, walking a few paces ahead with the Captain. Will pouted. He had wanted this to be a nice day between Elizabeth and him, but Jack had ruined yet another plan.

            "Hey, Will?" William blinked, looking around as Jack grinned at him and a smile broke out over Elizabeth's face.

            "What?" he asked desperately.

            "I was jus' wondering if I would get to come to your 'private time.'" He snickered. Will blushed and growled. It was official. He hated the pirate.

            "Ah! The bakery!" Elizabeth cried out, and veered off to the shop. Jack and Will followed behind, not quite as enthused as their female companion. Entering the shop, Jack stuck closely to Will as Elizabeth carefully inspected each bread, pastry and bun. Not to say Jack wasn't watching the buns too. At a more secluded corner of the shop, Will bent over to examine a funny looking bread. Slyly, Jack leaned over him, placing his hands on the small of Will's back for 'balance.'

            "What have you got there?" He asked, grinning as he felt Will's muscles tense under his shirt. Will's chest barely moved, singling lack of breath. Jack knew he tended to have that effect on people. Glancing at the bread, he smirked. "It's a croissant." He whispered in Will's ear. He felt the younger man shiver, and moved his hands, gently squeezed his sides. "Made by the French." Will suddenly remembered to breathe, and did so in heavy breaths, dropping the croissant and bracing himself against the counter. His body heated up, making the warmth between the two men almost unbearable.

            "Ah! Mint!" Elizabeth exclaimed, breaking the spell. "I'll have five, please." Slowly, Jack moved away from Will, grinning manically, then went to Elizabeth.

            "You know, I tried mint tea from Morocco. Quite good, actually."

            A couple of hours later, Elizabeth was oddly happy. The mint tarts had been especially appetizing, and the day was warm and bright. Jack had been especially funny, especially with his continuing sexual harassment of Will. The bakery scene had been fairly good fun, but not quite as amusing as when they had gone into the clothing shop. Elizabeth had forced Will to try on a number of things, while Jack continually touched him, forced his way into the dressing room and then tried to get him out of his clothes.

            Elizabeth was fairly sure it was wrong to take enjoyment out of Will's suffering, but it was funny! Plus, he probably wouldn't mind it so much in a while. Of course, that just left the fact that Will was her husband. However, small obstacles like that were easy to get around.

            Yet, even at her happy thoughts, she felt a twinge of regret again. It was coming up more often these days, and she felt bad about it. She knew Will would never go with Jack, he had a sense of responsibility that, while annoying sometimes, made for an excellent friend and lover. She was going to miss him, and had even thought about forcing him to stay. But she knew it wouldn't be right, and some things had to be done.

            Finishing off the last mint tart, Elizabeth giggled as Jack gave Will's arse a little smack. They would make such a cute couple, once her clueless friend got the hint.

            Reaching into her sack, Elizabeth was slightly dismayed to find there were no more tarts. She really could use another one. Really badly. She NEEDED another tart.

            As Elizabeth dragged the two men off to find more tarts, Will made sure he kept a fair distance from Jack, who was grinning like some sort of predator. This was the worst day of his life. He knew Elizabeth had noticed something by now, and Jack seemed to be getting off on his pain. He hoped Elizabeth wouldn't mistake his horror as interest. He felt guilty for the small bits of pleasure he did derive from having Jack as close as he was. It was wrong. For Jack hitting on another man might not have been a big deal, but Will had always considered himself a bit of a Christian and found the idea highly impious. 

            "C'mon, lad." And with that Jack gave his arse another swat. Will winced. He had lost count how many times that had happened, but it was starting to hurt now.

            Next was dinner, in which Jack made several innuendos and passes. Will wasn't amused, but he was the only one. Elizabeth found it funny enough, and Jack seemed to enjoy himself as well. Of course, Jack had an excellent after dinner plan.

            "I haven't been anywhere near rum for a while…" he moaned remorsefully. Will groaned.

            "No. I am not stepping foot in some sleazy pub." Elizabeth frowned at him.

            "Of course not. I wouldn't dream of placing myself in one of those horrible houses of disease and pestilence. We're going to a refined pub."

            True to her word, Will had been dragged of to a different kind of pub. There was no fighting, and civil conversations prevailed at all the tables. The patrons sat, talking quietly, taking the occasional sip of whatever brew they had purchased. Jack quickly rushed to the bar, ordering straight rum as Elizabeth and Will sat down at a table, Elizabeth still nursing her mint tarts.

            "I can't believe you let Jack ruin our evening." Will groaned. His wife frowned, pausing in mid bite.

            "First of all," she lectured after swallowing. "He did not ruin our evening. Jack is enjoyable company. Second of all, he'll be gone before we know it, and despite your protesting, I know you like him. We should at least spend time with him before he's gone."

            "I like Jack." Will replied, trying to avoid starting the only fight in the place. "It's just now was not the time I would have preferred him to have shown up at our doorstep."

            "Why not now?" Elizabeth demanded, her voice taking on a demanding tone. "Why is now so much worse then any other time?" Wisely, the blacksmith decided not to answer that. Calming down, the wealthy woman sighed, setting aside her tarts. "You two were so cute." Taken back, Will blinked.

            "What?"

            "When you saved Jack from the gallows. You two seemed to have this sort of connection. You fought like one consciousness split between two bodies. It was amazing." She sort of sighed dreamily "In fact, it was almost cute." Will frowned, trying to remember exactly what he had been thinking during those moments, and nothing came to mind. Shaking his head, he gazed into Elizabeth's eyes.

            "It may have been 'cute' or whatnot but it's not 'cute' now." He replied. "Now it's annoying and condescending at best. At worst, he's risking all of our lives." Elizabeth's almost euphoric look changed into one of anger.

            "Will, in the little over two weeks Jack has been with us I don't think you've said one nice thing to him. I want you to get over there and have a nice conversation with the man." She exclaimed angrily, stuffing a tart in her mouth.

            "But-"

            "Don't 'but' me! Get over there now!" Will tried to make himself a bit smaller, but he still received his wife's evil death glare and decided it would be best not to anger her further. Sighing in resignation, he got up and headed over to the bar.

            "Well, 'e wasn't very happy about that now, was 'e? So, I turned to him and I said… hey Will!" Jack turned from the bartender to his companion as he remorsefully sat down. "Were you sent over for peace talk?"

            "Yes." Will muttered miserably.

            "Great!" The pirate exclaimed cheerfully, moving his stool a bit closer. "Rum for my friend please." Will blinked, not entirely sure he wanted it. However, as Jack launched into yet another tale of his adventures on the Black Pearl, he was inclined to drink as fast as he possibly could. "Oh, mate, I hope you have some money because I'm out."

            "So thens I wen' 'Norin'ton, aren't you a girl?'" And with that, Will hiccupped. Jack smiled, happy at the progress alcohol had made on his friend.

            "Norrington is a blighter, isn't he?" Jack responded, taking a drink of his rum, Will, however, was taking huge gulps of it, sometimes just pausing for long enough to breathe.

            "Y'know, I'm happy to see you, Jack." Will said, sobering up a bit. Jack's ears perked a bit. "I know I've been really really really…"

            "Angry, a pain in the arse, ungrateful and petty?" Jack asked. Will blinked, trying to understand the words. Finally, he nodded.

            "I guess."

            "I hadn't noticed." Jack replied, giving a small, genuine smile. Will grinned back, then frowned.

            "It's just… Elizabeth… is…" Jack sat at the counter, chin in his hand as e wait for Will to cough something out. "We've been very unhappy." He managed to say, accentuating his words with a long swig. "It jus'… I dunno. But that was all happenin' then you showed up and… it just wa'int the bes' time, mate. Savvy?" Jack nodded.

            "Savvy. So, what's the problem between you and the bonnie lass?" he asked, taking another drink. Will shrugged.

            "It's the spark."

            "Uh huh."

            "The spark i'n't there. Elizabeth is nice and all, but no spark." Jack nodded once again, fiddling with his hands but remaining interested. "You, 'owever, have lots of spark." This managed to catch the pirate off guard. He gazed into Will's eyes, trying to find out exactly what the lad meant. He wasn't very intuitive tough, and gave up.

            "Whadya mean by that?"

            "I mean, your Captain Jack Sparrow!" he exclaimed. Jack checked around a bit nervously, trying to determine if anyone had heard that. "You're amazing, with your tales and your, your hand movements and the 'whoa' and the-ag!" In a horrible attempt to copy Jack, Will had managed to fall off the stool, attracting much unwanted attention. Sighing, Jack picked Will up off the floor and swung the blacksmith's arm around his shoulders.

            "C'mon luv. Let's get you home." He said softly. Reaching into Will's pocket, he found the purse and left about enough to cover their tab on the bar counter. Jack suddenly remembered something. Looking around, he tried to find signs of Elizabeth, but not seeing her, figured she must have left, and continued to make his way out of the pub. 

            Elizabeth, however, had gotten bored of being alone and had strayed outside of the pub, resting against the wall. The air was much clearer, which she found relieving. Her father was going to be angry if she came back smelling like smoke, she tried to air herself out, rather unsuccessfully. Elizabeth also found herself a tad bit disappointed that she had yet again run out of mint tarts.

            "Hey." A thick voice called out in the darkness. Elizabeth's heart gave a start as she flattened herself against a wall. "'Ey, wha's a nice little girl like you doin' out here in a big, ol' scary place like this?" a drunkard came closer towards her, daring to reach out and stroke her cheek.

            "Don't touch me." She growled, heart hammering in her chest. The drunk smiled, wobbling slightly. Despite his lack of sobriety, Elizabeth still had much to fear. The man was large and muscled, probably a sailor. He could easily hurt her.

            "C'mon. You must be lookin' for a bit of fun, aren't you?"

            "Get away." She growled. But he slowly came closer, and Elizabeth's wrath caught in her throat. She had come out, at dark, alone and unarmed. What a stupid decision. She felt a small block collect in her throat and she tried not to cry as she tried to sap away his advances. She wanted to cry out, to scream, to run, but it all seemed so frivolous and impossible now. All she could hope for was a saviour.

            Norrington, Commodore Norrington, one should add, one of the higher ranking officers in Port Royal, had been sent on an extremely frivolous mission. He despised minor things like these. He had been sent to find Elizabeth. Her father had started to worry when she hadn't come home at her usual time and Norrington, who had happened to be over trying to get him to approve the costs of a new ship, had been available. 

            If it hadn't involved Elizabeth he would have refused. He was also concerned about her welfare, especially now with the spat between her and her husband, and had decided to take it as opposed to some small no one with no personal connection. 

            He had been searching for half an hour, and his efforts were proving fruitless. He had seen neither hide nor hair of her. It was obvious she wasn't running around outside, so his current destinations were the pubs. Hopefully Elizabeth wasn't actually around one, but he had to check to make sure.

            The Commodore had come around to a respectable one, and was about to go inside when he heard noises. He let go of the door handle and cautiously peered around the corner, and he realized he had found Mrs. Turner. While her form was hard to make out in the darkness, her voice was unmistakable. He also noticed the man, fiddling with her dress and trying to figure out how to work it. An indignant rage boiled up within him and he immediately got out his sword, preparing for a fight.

            "In the name of the British crown I hear by charge you with the crime of attacking the Governor's daughter," Norrington would have continued except the drunkard had gotten a bit scared by a show of authority and had started to stagger off into the night. He had a burning desire to go off after the scoundrel, but knew he was far too unprepared, and realized that Elizabeth's welfare had to come before a sense of petty revenge.

            "Mrs. Turner, are you alright?" he knelt down to help the shaken woman, and carefully stood her up. Nodding, she looked down, ashamed at her weakness.

            "I'm alright Commodore. I'm just a bit embarrassed at my mistake. Thank you for your assistance." Norrington nodded and took off his jacket, placing it around her shoulders.

            "I'll take you home." Elizabeth nodded, managing a smile as she looked up.

            "Thank you, Commodore."

            After dropping Elizabeth off at her room with her insistence that she would be fine, Norrington had taken it upon himself to wait for the return of John and Will. He felt their conduct was absolutely appalling and wanted to at least have another talk with Will.

            Half an hour later, they both stumbled into the house, Will being helped along by his friend. Norrington was about to step in before they started talking again.

            "You know, rum smells like you." At this, Will giggled at his comment. It was oddly disturbing. John simply nodded, stepping up to the stairs and proceeded to try to drag the drunken blacksmith up with him as well. "I really, really like you when you're quiet for a minute. Yer prettier when you do." He giggled again, and John grunted.

            "But I could never be as pretty as you." He replied distractedly. Will continued to giggle all the way up the stairs. Norrington frowned, shaking his head. Something wasn't adding up about John.

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Another chapter finished. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 6 Teaser

"What did you do?" he growled softly, keeping a firm grip on what used to be his jacket. Jack blinked, trying to look innocent. He failed.

            "What d'you mean?" the pirate asked.

            "You know what I mean." Will replied. "What did you do to Norrington?"


	6. A 'Harmless' Joke

Crab Apple Fairy: Thanks! I'll give you a hint though- the tarts are actually more ominous then they seem^^

Plumsy321: Lot's of trouble this chapter! And thank you :) I'm sorry, I meant to post this on Monday, but with school and the like… yeah…

Starlit Hope: Congrats on getting an account! Now you just have to show the world how creative you are ^^ And I know, I do the stool thing constantly. Will torture!

Jehan's Muse: Yeah, I like making Will angry^^ And Norrington IS hot! And don't worry, I hope to have much of the slashing… until I make it all go horribly wrong. Buahaha!!! And Devon really is hot, with his wig and official suit and… :: drools::

emeraldwolf: I know, I miss Jack's look too! But it'll grow back over time. And I hope I didn't make you wait too long!

Carolinus Took: Absolutely! :: bows::

Paty: Thanks! And I know, they look so… cute together! :)

Tidbits: I'm sorry I didn't update for so long! I guess as an author I didn't think of it as a cliffhanger since I knew what would happen, so forgive me… and undying love won't come up for a bit, but I'll try my best to make it exciting and slashy.

Kandra: Jack fought me for HOURS over the hair thing, but I told him without it he'd never get the Pearl or Will, and he calmed down. And Elizabeth has conflicting feelings over Jack/Will slashiness… poor woman. And maybe you're right. Note to self: Stop being so predictable.

Madkornfan: Finally I managed to post another chapter.

Mystik-chan: Why thank you. I hope all my updates won't be this slow from now on.

Me+orly: Thanks, and it should get more slashiful in the near future… with any luck :)

Roz Morgan: Wow. That's so awesome, thanks for managing to wrestle your friend down. I feel honoured… :: glows brightly:: Unfortunately, I may have screwed Norry over in this chapter -_-;

She-Who-Is-Too-Lazy-to-Sign-In-and-Therefore-Must-be-Hyphenated: You're far too kind, and I'm writing as I type…^_^

Seppuku Koishii: Thanks a whole bunch, and that's what I hope to do… :: coughs and starts praying that her computer doesn't crash::

Hidden: Thanks^^

Perle Noire: Really? No OOCness? :: eyes start to water:: Nice plot? :: wipes a way a few tears:: I'm so happy… you just said the two most wanted comments of authors… And I'm surprised at how many people seem to like Elizabeth/Commodore. And here I thought most people hated Norrington. Silly me. Hope I didn't make you wait too long!

Bananacosmicgirl: :: starts crying uncontrollably:: I'm happy you think I'm doing them IC! I thought I was terribly off, but you're too kind! And I'm boardline with Elizabeth, because I find her character can go any which way really. And we'll have lots of more J/W interaction. 

Here's chapter 6.

Usual warnings/disclaimers apply

                                    Chapter 6

            "So, what are we doing today?" Jack asked. Will groaned. It had been a week since he had found himself at that pub and he regretted ever going with Jack. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, or what he had said, but Jack seemed to be under the impression they were close friends now. He had even gone so far as to offer marriage advice, which, while probably meant in all sincerity, was completely useless.

            "Jack, I have to work. Work." Jack sighed as he got up off the couch and went over to place a hand on Will's shoulder.

            "Mate, you're too uptight. Take a day off, relax, breath in. It's not healthy to be that stressed." Will shrugged Jack's hand off angrily.

            "I know the concept of a normal life is hard for you to understand, but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do."

            "Well," Jack replied, his voice coming on with a tinge of a sharp edge. "if your 'normal' life is this painful for you, why don't you change?" This stopped Will cold in his tracks. He turned around to stare at the pirate.

            "What do you mean?" The pirate shrugged, glancing at the Turner coolly.

            "If your current living situation is this bad, why not find something different?"

            "Like what?" Jack remained silent, glaring at Will as if though daring him to ask him again. Then it clicked.

            "Are you inviting me onto the Black Pearl?" The buccaneer nodded.

            "Of course. You seemed to enjoy yourself enough last time." For a moment, Will felt uncomfortable, like he had been caught in a lie. Jack's suspicious eyes travelling over his face didn't help either. "Or have things changed?"

            "They have." Will replied, grateful for the escape. "I'm married to Elizabeth now. I have to provide for her."

            "Her father seems to have done a great job of doing that for you." The pirate interrupted, looking around the room. 

            "I can't just up and leave. I have work, people relying on me. I'm not like you, I have others to answer to." Will raged on. He then turned around, trying to take deep breaths. He had to stop loosing it in front of the pirate. The older man frowned, then went to Will, placing a hand on both shoulders.

            "C'mon now luv." He murmured into Will's ear sending his breath across it. Willl felt his breath hitch and his heart almost seemed to stop as Jack's hands wandering down to his waist. "Just us and the crew on the Pearl, out on the oceans, striking fear into the hearts of men everywhere. You'll get rich, I'll get wealthy, and your darling will have everything she ever wanted." Jack started to play with the waste band of Will's trousers, and the blacksmith found himself getting starting to get lost in the sensations. _Darling… Elizabeth…_

            "Stop doing that!" Will exclaimed, coming to reality as he pulled himself out of reach and spun around, glowering. Jack frowned again.

            "Stop doing what, luv?"

            "The… touching thing… and the… 'luv' thing…" he struggled. Jack seemed to smirk.

            "You were a better conversationalist when you were drunk."

            "Jack, this isn't a game. A few days ago, Norrington approached me. He said…" Will tried to compose himself. "He said he knew you weren't my friend. He said he had found out you were my lover and would tell Elizabeth if you didn't stop making such public displays of affection." The pirate cocked his head, taking in the information. Then, his eyebrows went up.

            "That's all he said?"

            "Jack, this isn't a game!" Will repeated, growing a bit desperate. "That could really hurt Elizabeth, even if it isn't true." Jack sighed, apparently giving up.

            "Fine. I'll go down to Norrington and explain the whole-"

            "Don't talk to him! Just stop." Will pleaded, staring Jack in the eyes.

            "Alright." He simply said, then broke eye contact and went back to the couch, picking up the book he had abandoned. "But you really do sap all the fun outta life." Will wasn't completely satisfied with the pirate. Something told him this wasn't the last he would get out of Jack about the situation. However he had to go to work and didn't have time to press the matter. So he whisked himself out of the door and downstairs before another thing could go wrong.

            Jack looked up from the book as he heard Will rush out of the room and downstairs. He stayed motionless, listening for any signs of his presence. However, he heard the main door shut none too quietly and grinned. Setting his book down again, he got up and did a few stretches before going to work.

            Norrington had to stick his nose in it, eh?

            Let it be known that Commodore Norrington was not a cruel man. He may have been emotionally distant from most people, and a bit tight on the rules, but he wasn't one to kick puppies or purposely make small children cry. What made him appear so gruff was his respect for the law. When he was a small child, a sense of patriotism and a common good had been drilled in his head. Perhaps that's why he had been disinclined to tell Elizabeth immediately about his suspicions.

            He had found John's behaviour deplorable, none the less, and would have spoken to the man, but with his lack of familiarity he had played it safe and spoken to Will. The blacksmith had seemed petrified, and Norrington was sure out of respect for Elizabeth's emotional health he would at least hide his relationship with the other man more carefully.

            However, this also raised the moral question of whether Elizabeth should know anyway. His first instinct was to say no. She didn't deserve this kind of pain, and it would just be embarrassing for everyone involved. But a second thought popped up and left him feeling rather confused. This one said that she didn't deserve to be lied to, and that she should have the information so that she could make informed choices. Elizabeth was a very intelligent woman, and could probably handle it very well once she got over the shock of who Will was having an affair with.

            These choices continually chased around his mind, weaving between thoughts and words, trying to tag one another and destroy other options. It made day-to-day life almost unbearable and made being around Elizabeth a battle of will.

            Sighing, Norrington tried to dissolve the thoughts as he gazed at the layout for their newest ship, but failed. Eventually after many failed attempts at concentration, he gave up and decided to go and visit his church. Surely the house of God would clear his mind. Never the less, he sighed. Norrington wasn't a very religious man. He grew up with God as a matter of culture instead of having a true sense of piety.  But then, he had found the oddest things could happen when you least expected them. 

            Jack glanced around, carefully creeping down the hall. While extreme stealth was not the norm for the pirate, it could be done and he was putting into practice now. Fortunately, there were no maids around to play possible witness to his crime.

            He carefully counted the doors until he arrived at the one at the end of the hall. Slowly and silently, he turned the knob and glanced at the room. This was it.

            He immediately dropped his quiet demeanour and started to rummage around the drawers, trying to put things back as best as he could. Eventually he found what he was searching for and grinned, closing the drawer and once again tip toeing out.

            Elizabeth was having tea with one of her friends, Victoria. The day had been pleasant enough, even if they weren't the best of friends. But as the day wore on, a small knot formed in Elizabeth's stomach, like the one she had gotten the night when Jack had come into shore. Something was going to happen. The winds seemed to whisper it. Yet maybe, she mused, she was wrong. Maybe this would be the best for all involved.

            "So then I told William over 'ere that if he just ran with the stuff then we'd make a quick get away, but he 'ad this moral thing, eh? And he goes 'We can't do that!' I guess Will was kind of my conscience growing up." Once again, they were all sitting down for dinner and Jack was charming Mr. Swann to no end. He had made up and entire childhood for Will and himself out of seemingly nowhere. Will himself was in a relatively good mood. Jack had refrained from hitting on him all day, and the creativity he put in their childhood was astounding.

            "I guess someone had to be you conscience." Norrington muttered under his breath. John, however, heard it, and made a grin.

            "How's the new boat going anyway?" he asked. Norrington stopped eating at glared out of him in the corner of his eye. Will felt a sudden terror, and his good mood seemed to evaporate. 'He wouldn't.' He thought desperately. To do anything that stupid was to screw Will over. It seemed that he had, however, as the large grin on his face didn't seem to disappear.

            "It's going very well. We have it planned out and are working on the costs as we speak."

            "Ah." Jack nodded, cocking his head to the side. "After dinner, d'you think you could show it to us?" Once again, the Commodore glanced at him expectantly, as if willing him to give up some hidden nugget of knowledge.  

            "Yes." He replied finally. "That's what Governor Swann and I were going to do." John nodded happily, eating with a renewed vigour.

            "Am I invited?" Elizabeth asked, looking on with interest.

            "Now Elizabeth, I don't know if such a topic would be interesting." Her father replied. Jack's grin seemed to stretch across the room by now.

            "C'mon, let the lass come. There's no 'arm in her gettin' to know the interior of a ship." Governor Swann nodded, a bit taken back.

            "Alright."

            As the quartet made their way to the drawing room, Will none-too-subtly pulled Jack aside.

            "What did you do?" he growled softly, keeping a firm grip on what used to be his jacket. Jack blinked, trying to look innocent. He failed.

            "What d'you mean?" the pirate asked.

            "You know what I mean." Will replied. "What did you do to Norrington?" Jack allowed a smile to come out.

            "Well we'll just have to see about that one, won't we?" and with that, he wretched himself free of Will's grip and jogged a bit to catch up with the others.

            "These are the plans." Norrington explained as Turner joined the trio, looking pale and nervous. This worried Norrington more, but he kept an eye on John as he got out his plans. Immediately he realized something didn't feel right about them. They seemed the slightest bit too heavy, and it wasn't rolled as tightly as he usually left it. They had been tampered with.

            "Well, spread them out Commodore." Governor Swann exclaimed. "I can't wait to see what idea you've got." Norrington swallowed a bit nervously. 

            "Mr. Swann, I don't-" but it was too late. John had grabbed the plans out of his hands and was fiddling, trying to get it unrolled on the table.

            "C'mon, Commodore, we've been waiting all evening." He flashed a smile at the wide-eyed man and spread them out. When he had unfurled it about half way, a pair of white, woman's underwear came out. For a moment, all was silent as they took in the sight before them. Finally, Elizabeth started to choke, turning pink in embarrassment. This seemed to wake them out of their trance as the governor looked at Norrington expectantly.

            "Governor Swann, I didn't… I don't…" he tried to defend himself, but no words could adequately display his sense of embarrassment and hatred.

            "That was hilarious!" Jack Sparrow exclaimed, falling back on the bed and laughing. "Did you see him face?"

            "It wasn't funny!" Will nearly shouted, face in his hands as he started to slowly sink down the wall. "This is bad."

            "No it isn't. The Commodore got his." 

            "I can't believe you did that Jack!" Will's muffled words nearly came out as sobs, and this stopped the pirate's joy as he looked curiously at the younger man.

            "Wha's wrong, luv?"

            "You don't get it. You just see Norrington as some crown man." Will replied, coming out from behind his hands. "But he's been so much more then that." He took a shaky breath, and the Captain felt something in him twinge for bringing the blacksmith to this state. "When they found me floating out at sea, Norrington was the one who set up the apprenticeship for me. Governor Swann and him paid for it out of their own pockets. When I got older they made a contract with my master's shop for all their needs. I owe him everything I am today." Jack felt a bit worse, and cautiously walked over to the fallen boy.

            "Well, it's not all that bad. I mean, that's probably the most action he's had for the last decade." At Will's dirty glance, he gathered his words weren't helping the lad, and retreated to his own corner and allowed Will to sulk.

            Elizabeth had felt Norrington's presence outside the door for a few minutes now, and knew he was gathering the courage to face her again. After a few more seconds, there was a strong knock at the door.

            "Come in." she called out, sitting nonchalantly on the chair. The door slowly opened and the Commodore come in, not looking at her.

            "Hello, Mrs. Swann." She nodded a bit coldly and heard him take a deep breath. "I just wanted you to know, about the scene this evening… well, I didn't know about the… undergarment."

            "So you never stole my undergraments?" she snapped, a small knot warning her of the direction of the conversation.

            "No. I never touched or looked at your delicates before I saw them on the drawing room table this evening. I believe your guest, John, put them there. You see…" he took a moment to think of the words. "I believe John and William are not simply friends. I have caught them on many occasions doing things that are more accustomed to people who are… closer then friends." He said quietly, and Elizabeth felt something inside her clench. There it was. The truth. She had known all along but to hear it in words was… indescribable. Something inside her seemed to break. It was over. The game had ended. This was reality. 

            "I believe he planted the item there because I had threatened to out them if their affections didn't stop." Elizabeth nodded, mind numbed. She needed to do something about this. She had to. She had known this moment would have to come. Yet, now that it was here, she was frozen. Thoughts chased each other around endlessly, her emotions changing and reforming themselves. "Mrs. Turner?"

            "Thank you." She managed to choke out. "I will see that something is done." Norrington nodded and bowed, then left, and then it hit Elizabeth. She was alone.

            The way she had imagined it, if anything were to truly happen between Jack and Will, they would go off, but she'd still always have Will. But reality was hitting her now. If Will went off with Jack, she would be truly alone. Will wouldn't come home to her in the evenings, she'd have no one with her in bed. All of her friends and society in general would look differently at her. She had been abandoned on an island out in the middle of nowhere while Jack and Will sailed off in their own little world. Things were going to change, and she felt totally unprepared.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

OK, first things first: I'm sorry about the lateness of the chapter, but I couldn't get it done until I had chapter 8 done and I haven't gotten to write as much lately. (School started on the 2nd)

Second, while many of you kind people have said my characters are IC, I would like to defend my portrayal of Elizabeth. I thought she was out of character because I think I may have made her a bit wiser and more intuitive then in the movie. My excuse is I think after about half a year of an underlying unhappiness in her marriage she's grown to realize things about life. And while with anyone else I could imagine her arguing them to death, I don't think she would confront Will for the simple fact of how docile he is with her. I think Elizabeth would see him as a symbol of peace, and also because of their longstanding friend she wouldn't harass him. Of course, that's just my psycho analytical view of it. :P

If anyone else wants me to defend one of my characters, I'll gladly do it. (Except for Jack. Ana Maria does that later on)

And once again, I would like to thank my reviewers. It absolutely inflates my ego to see what you've taken the time to write about my work, and your time is invaluable. I can never say enough about you guys, especially those who are repeat offenders :)

Now, our favourite part: the teaser.

"Norrington told me about the affair between Jack and you." Will nodded trying not to break out into protest. Elizabeth watched him for a moment, gauging his reaction. "Are you going to deny it?" The blacksmith buried his between his knees for a moment, trying to find the words.


	7. Useless chatting

Sorry this took so long! I had a lot of homework, on top of being sick and lazy. Gods I love excuses :)

Carolinus Took: I know! It's amazing when you draw/write/sing something and you get positive responses. 

Jehan's Muse: I know. Most of the time when I read something with one of the characters not being 100% homo loving, they seem incredibly homophobic. Damn slash, making us so tolerant :)

Chibi-Tomi: Thanks! But if you do see any OOCness, shoot it and bring it to me for dissection, K?  And don't do anything Jack wouldn't do!

madkornfan: Ask and ye shall receive! :: snaps fingers, breaks thumb:: Hm…

Kandra: Jack's just an adventurous little bastard, isn't he? Of course, that's what made the film so successful. I know what you mean about Norrington. People like that are often put in the hard position of upholding law and being popular. So I decided to give him a break. And you're smart. Which means I have to come with trickier plot points. Ah well. I have one plot point no one will guess… hopefully…

            I'm glad you understand Elizabeth a bit more. I know I wrote her a lot differently from the movie. And we'll have to wait and see what part she plays….

plumsy321: Yeah, poor Elizabeth. I kind of mad her a slash fan though, because I think she'd have a less harsh view on homosexuality since homophobia was definitely the norm then. And don't worry about pestering, it makes me feel loved and happy :)

sammie-mackie: Thanks! And I hope you didn't have too long of a wait.

Starlit Hope: I know, poor Will. Everyone just wants to convince him they're right…

She-who-is-once-again-too-lazy-to-sign-in-and-thus-will-be-hyphenated – Chocolate milk and sushi? An interesting combination. I must try it sometime. And sometimes we learn stuff… but it's mostly evilness. Thanks for your support!

sawdust monster: I know, Will's such a tight ass. Fortunately we're coming upon the part of the fic where he begins to leave that behind. And we still get Jack!^^ Thanks!

Perle Noire: Getting better? Awesome! I can only hope it gets even better. Let me know when I lag!

sarah: Thanks. Jack wasn't arrested because the first time they crept into the house during the night. Then he got a disguise.

TidBits: :: coughs as she stands up and brushes herself off:: I'M SORRY! I BEG FOR FORGIVENESS! THOU HAST SINNED!!! Will this part make up for it?

el: I know, poor Will^^ But he's fun to torture since he's… Will. But at least Jack gets to have fun.

LittleDragonQueen: I agree. Harmless practical joking is funny. Getting laid is better :) Don't worry about sounding crude. You're a darling compared to most people on the net.

Roz Morgan: Thanks. I was worried people would hate me for making Elizabeth and Norrington 'good guys', but I'm happy most aren't especially annoyed by my portrayal of Elizabeth. Amazing? :: blushes shyly and smiles:: You're too kind…

Icy Flame: I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure if it was too crude, but then I thought 'It's Jack.' :: begins to weep:: I still can't get over the fact people think everyone is sort of IC! That is the best compliment any fan fiction author can get. :: takes a moment to dry tears and blow nose:: Sorry about the 'Mrs. Swann' thing, I tried not to do that but I'm sure that's not the last time you'll be seeing it. Let me know if it shows up anywhere else.

I agree, tortured Will is one of the best kinds of Will. I mean, it's one of the pillars of the POTC fan community. I dunno about Norrington preventing slash. I mean, he was the reason Will sought out Jack in the first place. He almost started the slash… except then Will and Jack weren't on the same boat a lot of the time anyway. Gah. Norrington… :: shakes head:: the love/hate situation. Of course, if he'd just noticed the sexual tension between him and Gilette, he woulpdn't be so worried about them. And I plan on making Jack's facial hair grow back freakishly fast…. Buahhahahaha!!!

Honor: Now. I'm sorry, I was lazy. Please don't hate me. :: insert puppy eyes here::

Hidden: Tell me about it. The man doesn't give many expressions, so I would have loved to see it too. If only. Thanks!!!

a nameless face: I know I really suck on grammar. I tend to write expressively (I'm one of those people that goes "…..") so feel free to let me know when I really screw up. And about Jack's immaturity… I know he should be smarter, but I kind of see him as the boy who never grew up, and still sees himself as invincible and above the rules. :: dances around the avoid the OOC label::

I know! EVERYONE is liberal in my story. It's the bane of slash writers ^^ Looking back, I realized I haven't really dealt with society at that era, so thanks for reminding me about that. Hopefully someday I'll go back and rewrite it. And no offence taken, you raised good points. The best J/W? :: blushes and feels her ego inflate again:: Well, if you insist… :: giggles immaturely:: And if you really want me to write faster, I'd appreciate it if you could take care of my homework/laziness. Despite all the asking around I do, it seems those are things I can't give away too easily:)

Aurelious: I hope the wait wasn't too bad mate. :: tries not to look at the date of her last new chapter::

Curious Dream Weaver: I wasn't even aware I was doing any of that. Amazing! And I would write, if I weren't so busy coming up with excuses for not writing. ^^

I was amazed at how many reviews this chapter got. You guys are amazing. Suogi, even. And you're all terrible flatterers too. I am blessed.

Usual warnings and disclaimers apply.

                        Chapter 7

            If there was one thing Captain Jack Sparrow had learned over the years; it was an ability to tell when someone was extraordinarily pissed off at him. Experience dictated it was easier to tell on a ship, where everyone was crammed in. He found it almost impossible, though, to mistake Will Turner's current furry for anything else.

            It was the day after Jack's brilliant prank, and Elizabeth had told Will that she knew. Will was horrified and immediately attempted to correct her ideas, but she had shook her head, claiming they both needed time to think about it. That, on top of the maids continual whisperings, had taken its toll on Will. He hadn't spoken to the pirate since then. Sparrow's guess was that Will was making an attempt to prevent the dismemberment of the pirate, and consequent legal action that followed. This proved to be a good tactic for Will, but left Jack alone and bored. It was getting to the point where he would prefer Will screaming profanities at him then the silence he had to live through.

            Jack knew he could go off and try to amuse himself again. However, he also knew this would only infuriate both of his hosts more, and he was hoping to patch things up with at least one of them. Finally, when Will got home from work and was pacing around them room, ignoring Jack, the pirate decided to speak up.

            "If you want, I'll go talk to your bonnie lass." This caught Will's attention and he snorted, forgetting his vow of silence.

            "No you won't. You've caused enough trouble as it is."

            "Well you 'aven't exactly been the most hospitable person in the seven seas." Jack unintentionally snapped. This seemed to defeat Will and the young man's shoulder sagged as he took a deep breath.

            "Look, could you leave me alone?" Jack remained silent, feeling a bit guilty, an emotion he couldn't explain in this case. He cautiously watched Will's slow movements, contemplating if he should say anything. Before he knew it, his mouth was open again.

            "You know, my offer for joining the Pearl still stands." Will didn't respond and Jack gave up. He decided to go and find the Governor, whose blind favouritism had probably blocked out the circulating rumours, and amuse him with more tales.

            Will was off to the docks. He wasn't even sure why he had stopped at the Swann Estates. He suspected he had just wanted to yell at Jack, although the encounter had left him more confused. When he got there, Will had found himself unable to blame Jack. The pirate had looked melancholy, lying on the bed and gazing at the ceiling. Almost like he had realized the full consequences of his actions. And once again, Will felt bad for his unwavering anger at the pirate. Jack really hadn't done anything to deserve his treatment. Well, not initially anyway.

            When Will got to the docks, he realized he hadn't been here a lot lately. Not since Jack had come. Or maybe it had been since his 'fight' with Elizabeth. Or maybe he had just been too busy between the two of them. Whatever it was, he found himself grow calmer as he breathed in the salty wafts coming from the ocean. It came to him like a lost dream. Things had been so much simpler before Elizabeth had been captured. He had worshipped her from afar, not daring to get too close. She had smiled him occasionally; give him a spark of hope. It had been so much simpler. Life then had been filled with hopes and dreams of making a decent living and he had never dreamed of anything so complicated happening.

            "Hello Will." Will jerked a bit, surprised at the voice. He looked up, seeing Elizabeth smiling at him warily, as she sat down beside him.

            "Elizabeth." He replied, unable to hide his astonishment. She nodded, but he could tell she was depressed, and he felt a stab at his heart. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was cause her pain. Could he do nothing right?

            "You complained that I never went down with you, and I thought it might be a nice change." She tried. Will nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He wanted to tell her there was nothing going on between Jack and him, and that he would love her unwaveringly until the day they died if she would just give him one more chance. But he knew his words would be empty and unmeaning, as he himself wasn't too sure on either account, and Elizabeth deserved nothing but the truth. So they sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying each other's company as they went into deep thought. This was probably one of their best moments as of late, Will reflected. It was Elizabeth who finally broke the silence between them.

            "Norrington told me about the affair between Jack and you." Will nodded trying not to break out into protest. Elizabeth watched him for a moment, gauging his reaction. "Are you going to deny it?" The blacksmith buried his between his knees for a moment, trying to find the words.

            "He made some… advances." He replied. Elizabeth nodded, her expression becoming more peaceful.

            "And did you respond to those advances?"

            "No." he replied, and became aware of how quick his answer was. There was another moment of silence.

            "Are you sure?" Will looked at Elizabeth, his eyes pleading to hers for understanding.

            "Elizabeth, you are the only woman I will ever love."

            "Maybe. But Jack isn't a woman now, is he?" Will's eyes looked down from hers as he turned away again. Something in that hit far too close to home for his liking. Smiling weakly, Elizabeth turned away. "I know we've been having some problems lately-"

            "Elizabeth." Will said softly, not willing to believe his ears.

            "Will, we have, you can't deny it."

            "Yes, but we can work through them." He insisted, looking into her eyes as she turned her head towards him. Elizabeth shook her head.

            "No. This isn't something simple that we can resolve by talking about it. You and I both know it. We just weren't meant to be."

            "Elizabeth," he tried, but was stopped short as she looked into his eyes. There was nothing he could say or do. She was right. He looked back at the sand, dejectedly.

            "I've seen the way Jack is around you-"

            "Please don't."

            "And I think he could be good for you, Will. You've just been so stressed and angry lately. He's never stressed or angry. I think it would do you good to be aboard the Black Pearl."

            "But I don't… wait. How do you know about that?"

            "Jack came to talk to me." She replied easily. Will clenched his teeth. He hated the pirate. "Look, I know he's annoyed you, but he's really good down at heart. He's just going about things wrong."

            "Going about what wrong?"

            "Will, you really liked Jack when he left." Elizabeth sighed, glancing languidly at the blacksmith. "What has changed?"

            "He just came at the wrong time and started doing the wrong things." Elizabeth sighed.

            "Will, if you'd just give him a chance…" Will looked down.

            "I know."

            "I think you could really like him. Maybe even love him." Will simply couldn't take much more and growled as he got up and started to march away. "Will!" Elizabeth called after him, but he ignored her. He needed to get away, far away from Elizabeth and Jack and Norrington and the world. So he headed towards his shop.

            However, he discovered his shop was not a haven either, as one of the first sights when he walked in the door was Jack Sparrow. Jack was fiddling with various tools along the self. Will made a sigh of disgust, and was about to turn back out before Jack noticed him, but found he was too late.

            "Ah, William, luv, how good to see you." Racing up to the man, Jack put his hand on Will's shoulder, handicapping the blacksmith. Will shuddered involuntarily. Jack's hand was so warm and strong… it was all too confusing.

            "What do you want?" Will asked, facing the doorway. He didn't want to look at the pirate. He didn't want to admit how confused and hurt he was, because the last thing he wanted to be right now was venerable.

            "William, it appears we need to talk-"

            "I don't want to talk!" Will exclaimed, turning on the surprise pirate angrily. "I'm sick of all this talking! Governor Swann spoke to me, Norrington had a word with me, Elizabeth just won't shut up! And what it with you talking now? You never wanted to before! Why bother trying to communicate now? Your ship will be here in two days, I'm sure you can live without touching me until then."

            "Will, I'm not sure you-"

            "Not sure I what?" Will was absolutely inflamed, and he stared down the pirate frightfully. Jack didn't respond for a moment. The he went back into the blacksmith's shop. Will frowned, unsure of what the older man was busying himself with. Then Jack turned around, and Will had to lean back a bit to catch the handle of the flying sword. 

            "Perhaps we need to do this bit over again." Jack announced, and then rushed Will with his own sword. Will barely managed to defend himself, but then aggressively fought back, managing to gain some ground on the pirate.

            "By god, how long do you practice?" Jack asked, face screwed up in concentration. 

            "Two hours a day." Will replied, as he parried and thrusted towards his opponent. They continued on, exhausting each other mentally and physically until Will finally managed to knock the sword out of Jack's hands. Jack, however, once again reached for his gun and held it in Will's face.

            "You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I would have killed you." Will replied hollowly, smiling as he echoed forgotten words.

            "Well, that's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?" Jack, replied, giving Will his hand. Will accepted it, and was raised up. He then proceeded to kick the gun out of Jack's hand and put his sword to the pirates throat.

            "I surrender." Jack squeaked, shaking out his hand as he winced. Smiling, Will returned the blade to its proper place and sat down on his stool as he waited for Jack to say something.

            "Now that we've done that, my name's Jack Sparrow, What would yours be?" Will frowned, his good mood slowly vanishing.

            "What are you doing Jack?"

            "Trying to get started out on a fresh page." He replied. Will frowned, then shook his head, sighing.

            "You can't do that Jack. You can't just erase everything that was and make a new ending. I'm not some whore you can leave on this island and forget about."

            "You never were, luv. You never were." Jack replied, gazing into Will's eyes as he shook his head.

            "Well, then what do you want?" Will demanded, growing more frustrated. He got up off his stool and started to pace, feeling Jack's eyes following him. "I mean, you show up here sick and then when you wake up, all I get from you is this… touching, and non committal flirting, and you expect me to respond like some common whore. Yet, when I don't, you keep perusing me. What do you want from me, Jack? Do you want some one-night fling, use me and leave me? Because you're not getting that. I thought I made it clear to you that I am loyal to Elizabeth."

            "That's not what I want." Jack groaned, rolling his head around childishly.

            "Well then what do you want? I don't know, and I'm beginning to feel that you don't either."

            Jack was unsure of what to do. He knew Will could be this passionate, but had never really seen the lad quite so angry. He wasn't even sure what he had wanted to talk to Will about in the first place, and his senses told him to flee. However, this was his usual instinct when faced with angry people on land, and his senses also told him that wouldn't be the best way to handle the situation. However, he found himself so frustrated with the boy. Couldn't he see? Jack was making it as obvious as he could.

            "Will," he tried again. "Can you just sit down?"

            "No, I'm tired of talking. I want Norrington to stop making my life hell, I want Elizabeth to stop being so righteous and I want YOU out of Port Royal!" Jack was taken back. Had he really been THAT much of a hassle to Will?  Maybe he should…

            Do nothing. A part spoke up. Will was being a prick. He didn't have to be such a stuck up asshole. He certainly wasn't like that when Jack had left, and he didn't deserve this. He was Captain Jack SPARROW, after all. Women adored him, children emulated him, and men feared him. Besides, the lad was just being moronic and native. Jack knew he would have had to put up signs to make his intentions clearer. 

            Filling with a sense of indignant rage, Jack replied "Fine." then pushed past Will out the door. Hanging in the archway for a moment, his hands trailed over the wood. "But in 'righteous' there's the word 'right.' You should listen to the lass, mate. She's learned a lot since I was las' here." And with that, he left; hearing Will slam the door after him. For a moment, he felt satisfied. Will was just as angry as he was. Then, he felt deflated. Why couldn't he do anything right with that one?

            Norrington was amazing. In less then an hour, he had managed to cut costs for the ship by 300 pounds. This was almost enough to celebrate, as if he managed to shave off another hundred they would be within their budget. He was off to tell Governor Swann about their cutbacks. Strictly speaking, he didn't need to but he knew the older man liked to be included in things. Plus, the Commodore wanted to check up on Elizabeth.

            He knocked, and was greeted by a servant moments later. He stood, patiently waiting for Mr. Swann to come, but was met by Elizabeth first. He couldn't help that his eyes followed her down the steps, noting her gracious beauty and poise. Yet there was something different about her. Her step wasn't quite as light as it usually was, and there seemed to be some forceful determination in which she kept herself perfectly upright. Never the less, he smiled as best he could and bowed.

            "Good evening, Mrs. Swann."

            "Good evening, Commodore. Have you come up with more plans for the new ship?" Norrington nodded.

            "We've managed to cut costs. It'll be a bit smaller, but that much more affordable."

            "Ah." Elizabeth nodded, but looked troubled.

            "Are you alright, Elizabeth?" he asked, frowning at her distant look. Elizabeth looked back up at him, a sort of fear in her eyes that Norrington couldn't place.

            "Things are… changing right now." She replied quietly. "It's for everyone's bests interests, although the change is gradual and almost painful." She broke eye contact, shaking her head. "I supposed you don't care. You're a man, after all."

            "Au contraire." He replied. "I had a cousin who claimed to be psychic. He'd always go on about random things that none of us understood. Your speech, however, makes perfect sense." Norrington decided that the fact said Cousin had been placed on trial for witchcraft was something not entirely appropriate for the effect he was trying to give. Elizabeth looked up again, a sort of hope in her eyes.

            "Commodore, I was wondering… when the new ship is built and complete, can I have a look around on it?"

            "I see no reason why that can't be arranged." He smiled again, and Elizabeth let out the largest smile in what felt like weeks.

            "Commodore, your kindness and friendliness has made its impression on me in the last little while. I would just like to thank you for all the empathy you've shown." 

            "It truly is amazing what a beautiful woman can do to a man's demeanour." He let out yet another smile. "Now, I have an audience with your father, I mustn't keep him waiting. Thank you for this conversation." With that, the Commodore bowed and left, smiling pleasantly as he made his way down the hall.

            As the Commodore left Elizabeth breathless, Will stormed in the door a matter of seconds later, ruining her blissful state and sending her into a bout of apprehension.

            "Will?" she called out. He turned around angrily, but seeing it was her, he ran his fingers through the hair on top of his head as he tired to cool down.

            "Elizabeth. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come in like that."

            "Is something wrong, Will?" she asked, rushing to his side in concern.

            "It's just… Jack." He admitted, finding no believable excuse in his state. "He's just so… frustrating and confusing." Elizabeth nodded.

            "Despite what it seems, Jack's not simple Will, and he never will be. And you've got two options. You can stay here and forget there ever was a Jack Sparrow, or you can go on the Black Pearl, and see what there is to the man."

            "Elizabeth, I can't go with him. You're here and it would be disrespectful and rude to leave you, my wife, alone and without comfort, to run around the world with a pirate. It's impractical and wrong. Not to mention that that sort of… orientation is hardly accepted by the general public."

            "Will." Elizabeth began, gently placing a hand on each side of his head to look into his eyes. Will's dark ones looked around, confused and a bit scared. Elizabeth looked at him gravely. "I'm going to be completely honest. The thought of you leaving me to go gallivanting off with Jack Sparrow does bring me sadness. However, things between us aren't working out, thus far, and Jack would be a great experience for you. You could make a new beginning. And Jack obviously has some interest in you. As for society, screw it. Hang the laws as well. You'll be off on a boat, gallivanting around on the ocean, having marvellous adventures. Most people can only dream about that and despair as their lives are wasted away on tea parties and etiquette." She took away her hands and looked at the blacksmith expectantly. "Now it's your turn."

            "Elizabeth." Even though the physical force wasn't there, he felt a duty to look into her eyes. He mentally begged her not to make him do this. Nevertheless, the hardened maiden stood before him, waiting expectantly. He sighed. "I don't know. On one hand, I want to stay here and try to make it work with you, because I believe we still could. On the other hand, I know it won't work, and the allure of sailing on the open seas with Jack Sparrow does raise my interest." He sighed. "I just don't know."

            "How do you feel about Jack?" Elizabeth asked. He blinked.

            "Elizabeth, I just… I… I don't know." He stumbled, trying to think of something that would please her. "I'm drawn to him because he has that mystery around him, that aura, that Jack-ness. However, I don't want to, because it would mean change. Big change that I'm not ready for."

            "You seemed to be quite fond of him when he was about to be hung."

            "Yes, I still do have some of that lingering affection for him. If he were to be hung again I would still rush to his rescue. But things are… different now, and I don't know what to do."

            "Well, it is a hard decision." Elizabeth agreed. "And you haven't got much time. The moon will be full tomorrow." She silently left his side, and climbed the stairs up to her room. "You have until tomorrow. Use your time wisely." She advised, without ever turning around. Will found himself alone again, unable to deal with his thoughts.

Oooo… a kind of cliffhanger. Amazing. I'd like to apologise for how long this took to come out. I hate authors who don't update semi regularly. The good thing is I won't open up another series to work on unless it's driving me insane, so I'll devote all of my writing time to this. If anyone has any questions, comments or complaints, see my email on the authors page, or leave a review. Once again, thank you all for reading and reviewing! When I can think of more cheesy euphemisms to use, I'll try!

Teaser

"Jack, you're leaving today." Will started, a bit unsure of how to approach the subject. His companion nodded.

"I know. I've been waiting to go home for quite a while, mate. The question is, are you going to keep waiting?" 


	8. Choose

,First of all, I feel like crap for not updating at all. I was worrying and fussing over it, but I was either too tired or had homework or whatnot. Anyway, I am SUPER sorry. Fortunately I have this week off, so I'm going to try my best to start writing more.

Jehan's Muse: I'll try and put in more Norrington for you (and me^^) He stars a bit in the next chapter, and IMHO, he's rather sexyful :D :: sighs and dreams off with Jehan::

Curious Dream Weaver: I'm glad there are more Elizabeth fans out there! We need more positive Elizabeth! And thanks you, and I'm sorry for the extreme lateness of this chapter.

madkornfan: Ask and ye shall receive. (Sorry for the lateness!)

sammy-mackie: Thanks you, and now you (almost) know.

she-who-should-stop-being-so-lazy-and-just-sign-in-but-won't-so-will-be-hyphenated: Sorry for the lateness! I hope the chapter can meet your expectations.

Moozavachie: You and me with the bad excuses, eh? :D I turned you into a Norrington fan? That made my day. I'm happy you like my characterization.

Chibi-Tomi: Thanks! And I could see Elizabeth has fairly lippy when she wants to be. However, if you think that's OOC, I'll try to tone it down.

Starlit Hope: I know! Everyone enjoys torturing Will, don't they? I'm still not sure if I'm giving him a happy ending either. Poor guy always gets the short end of the stick.

Lonely Cowboy: POTC… amazing film… :: bows in respect:: I'm glad you think my characterization is on. I'm constantly tearing my hair out about it :D

lillie chan: I didn't make you cry, did I? I'm sorry! :: starts crying herself:: I… it's just…:: sniffles::

Captin Red Black: Do I still have to walk the plank? I'm a terrible swimmer, you know. Especially in jeans.

Perle Noir: You're such a flatterer. :: blushes and giggles:: I purposely changed it. I figured he'd give Elizabeth a bit of time :D I know, I'm horrible at grammar. You'll have to excuse me, but if anything is blatant don't hesitate to point it out.  Strong plot? Great characters? :: ego explodes all over the carpet:: Ooo… that stains. And I'm sorry for being so late! I beg for your mercy!

Tid Bits: I know, Will needs to get laid horribly. That's not coming for a while though, poor thing. And I hope you were happy without my updates. Once again, begging for mercy… :: sprinkles happy dust around::

Little Dragon Queen: You totally get it. Will's pretty easy to empathize with, don't you think?

Daisy: Mi numero uno amiga! You're an awesome writer as well, and you'll always be my first line of support. Right after I get this up, I'm reading your poem.

Plumsy321: I hope it hasn't been that long! :: cringes:: It feels like it for me though, for how much I've been worrying over it. I'm sorry! :: begs at another person's feet::

MiraiGee-chan: :: bows at another person's feet:: Forgive me! I bringth you the next chapter!

Ghjghj: jsurbf? Hidfudyhdbf :P Hudfjgjgkh.

Sounds Patrol: I'm sorry! :: starts crying:: :: starts begging:: Please don't die!!!

And a special thanks goes out to Bien. He just finished his exams, and was friendly enough to add me to MSN. What can I say, he's a great guy, and a great conversationalist. And another thanks to by best bud Daisy, who has always been there for me and continues to be my pillar of strength. I'd also like to thank my floppy for never becoming corrupted, now matter how badly I treated you. Now, for the chapter.

            If there was one thing Elizabeth hated more then corsets it was angry, confused men wandering around trying to make personal decisions. Of course, some men were good with feelings and emotions. However, Jack Sparrow and William Turner weren't such men. Will had gotten up in a particularly bad mood. Normally he would have gone to the Smith's shop to try to pound out his frustrations, but Elizabeth refused to allow him to. And she was right. The smith's shop was a refuge for Will, something he could hide behind when he felt a particularly intense emotion. He would work from noon to night to noon again, allowing the feelings to grow and mount. Elizabeth knew he needed to sort out his feelings, and working wouldn't help him.

            Jack, quite to the contrary, had gotten up in a quiet mood. At first Elizabeth feared his scurvy had returned, but at a closer glance, he seemed confused. Almost like he was walking around in a trance, he didn't seem to notice things. He had already broken a lamp, knocked down a maid, and nearly ran into a wall. Jack also seemed to be afraid of Will. The only person who could drag the pirate out of his daze was the blacksmith, and then Jack seemed determined to be unnoticed. He would duck behind statues, go up the stairs, and hide in a room. Anything to get out of Will's presence. Elizabeth thought it was almost cute. At first. As the day wore on, she was starting to see the benefit in strangling them both. The Black Pearl was coming tonight, and they acted as though they had all the time in the world to play games with each other.

            Elizabeth angrily bit into a mint tart as she noticed Jack hit his head on a candleholder. He rubbed his forehead and winced, then sighed loudly and continued to wander around. This was going on for long enough. She needed to do something, and fast. And slowly an evil, yet brilliant plan formed in her head. It was a marvellous plan, full of action, twists, turns and surprise. It would work perfectly.

            "I'm going out." Will announced, striding down the hall as Jack threw himself behind the can by the front door. He wound up sending the can straight by Elizabeth and into the dining room. Will seemed not to notice though, as he marched right out of the door without a second thought.

            "Wait!" Elizabeth cried as soon as her mouth was free from minty goodness. Will was long gone, however, and she frowned, taking another bit of her mint tart. Her plan involved having them both in the house. Oh well. Maybe fate would bring them together.

            Checking down in her sack, Elizabeth realized that she had run out of mint tarts. She panicked for a moment. Then her sense took over and she found herself rushing to the kitchen, screaming bloody murder.

            Will wasn't sure what to do. At first, the choice had been obvious: put up with Jack until he left and then work on the whole marriage thing. Now, however, he found himself questioning if that was a good idea. Jack wanted him to go. Elizabeth wanted him to go. Norrington would probably be quite happy if he were out of the picture too, despite his threats. Now it seemed to be all up to him. And for once in his impassioned youth, Will wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

            When Elizabeth had disappeared, he knew he had to go after her. When he had figured out Jack was using him, he had set his own course without a second thought. But things had changed. He wasn't a lowly blacksmith anymore; he was the husband of one of the wealthiest heirs in Port Royal. If he left, what would the town say? He doubted he would ever be welcomed back, and even he if he were, could he ever face Elizabeth again? To get up and leave was to abandon her, to abandon all the time and effort and commitment in their relationship for a slutty pirate who had probably never truly loved another human being.

            Yet, Will found himself entranced by the prospect of a new life. He would leave everything behind. All the loneliness, emptiness and self-hatred he felt, the town, her father, Norrington. All of it would be behind him, and he could start up where he left off. He didn't have to stay with Jack for long if he didn't want to, he just had to find the next port.

            And maybe, some tiny part of him wanted to spend more time with the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Some small part of him wanted to learn more about the mysterious man who had no past and lived in the moment. Maybe he secretly wanted to feel Jack's arms around him once again, to smell the salty sea in his skin and the rum in his breath. Maybe there was a small chance.

            As Will looked out across the ocean, his thoughts became more muddled. He wasn't sure where his loyalties laid for once. Before Jack, he had been completely devoted to his country. Then he had devoted himself to Elizabeth. Now… it seemed he had to serve himself, and the thought left him scared and alone. Before he had always devoted his time and excess energy to someone else, to make someone else happy. Now he had to be completely self-reliant. Once again he had confused himself, and time was running out before he had to choose. Looking out at the expanse of water before him, he mentally counted off the seconds in his head.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

            "You look depressed." Elizabeth said, plopping down in the chair adjacent from Jack, finishing another mint tart. Jack sighed, looking up from his chess game where he had vaguely moved the pieces around the board.

            "It's not depression, but more of a…"

            "You're depressed." Elizabeth told him, glaring as though challenging him to disagree. Not feeling like an argument with the girl, Jack threw up his hands.

            "Whatever you call it lass."

            "Go after Will." She had replied so quickly and in such a languid tone Jack almost failed to recognize the meaning of her words.

            "What do you mean?" he asked, intrigued.

            "I mean go through the town, looking for Will, get down on your knees and beg him to get aboard that goddamn ship of yours."

            "I'n't tha' a bit… unorthodox?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and stroking his stubble, looking with a held back interest.

            "Jack, your ship is coming tonight. When the ship leaves, so does your chance with Will. You can come back a thousand times and beg a thousand times more, but after this point I doubt Will will ever leave with you." The pirate nodded, silent for a moment.

            "You put me in an interesting position, lass. But I don' think your lad wants to talk to me anymore."

            "First of all, with any luck, he'll be your lad." She replied, taking a bit of her tart and glaring at the man to accentuate her point. "Second of all, go!" The impostor shrugged, getting up slowly.

            "Well, when you make such a compelling point…"

            "Go! He's down at the dock."

            "I thought I was supposed to search the town?"

            "GO!!!!"

            Elizabeth smiled as she heard the door close loudly. She had played her part, and now she had to wait for Will to do his duty.

            "I see you've found yourself a comfy spot dow' 'ere." Jack intoned. Will stiffened a bit, surprised by the other man's presence. He didn't look around however, and heard Jack sighed as the pirate sat down next to him. There were a few moments for surprisingly comfortable silence as they both gazed out across the water.

            "She's beau'iful, i'n't she?" Jack murmered. Will risked a glance, and found his companion gazing out across the sea longingly. Somehow, Will suddenly realized what it was all about. Jack's beard had started to grow out again, and he had refused to shave, saying it would take long enough to grow it back at the rate it was going. His hair had been neglected, and it had started to form groups, the partings random and gangly. Will took notice of Jack's square chin and his bronze skin, and for a moment he imagined the old Jack. The old Jack was the one staring forlornly across the water, like he was looking for a lover. And for a moment, he almost felt as if he could possibly understand the pirate, and maybe even sympathize. However Will blinked and the illusion was gone, leaving him trapped again.

            "Jack, you're leaving today." Will started, a bit unsure of how to approach the subject. His companion nodded.

            "I know. I've been waiting to go home for quite a while, mate. The question is, are you going to keep waiting?" Will exhaled harshly, shaking his head as he smiled sardonically.

            "Jack, I can't." he replied, trying not to remember how the words felt as he said then aloud.  "I have obligations here, and I've built a life which has been disrupted enough as it is. I'm sorry, but I can't sail with you." For a moment Will expected (hoped?) that Jack would argue with him, beg him to come onboard. But for once, Jack seemed to understand the finality of his words and stayed silent for a moment, still staring off into the ocean. Will felt uncomfortable, so he began to ramble.

            "I know I haven't been the best host while you were here, and you'll have to pardon me. But I hope we can get together once again someday, without you getting sick or Elizabeth being kidnapped." Will saw a small smile tug at the corners of Jack's mouth, and he relaxed. Perhaps this would go off better then he had expected.

            "Well, that's your choice mate." Jack replied, turning to look Will in the eye. "But don' tryin' go an' say I never gave you an option." The blacksmith gave a small grin back.

            "Don't worry, I'll tell all the future generations that I had the chance to go after a grand adventure with a real prate, but found the humdrum life of Port Royal far too intoxicating." Jack let out a small laugh, and for the first time in a long while Will felt happy. Sitting on the beach with a notorious pirate was actually almost comforting for Will. He was there, Jack was there and that seemed to be all that mattered at the moment. And for a moment, Will remembered the feeling of Jack's lips on his and the smell of his breath as he gazed into Will's eyes. And for a moment, Will could even pretend this was how it was supposed to be.

            "So, you're going to let him go?" Elizabeth demanded shrilly. Jack sighed, hanging his head.

            "Look, luv, I've tried everything I can think of. The lad is still devoted to you." He spoke clearly, enunciating each word as he stared coldly at Elizabeth. For a moment the wealthy daughter bit her tongue, Jack had more of a reason to be upset then she did. But she was so sure everything was going to work out…

            "Why is Will so stubborn?" She groaned, sitting on her bed, looking down angrily. She then put her head up, a sort of determination in her eyes. "Look, maybe if you come back in another year or so, then Will will have-"

            "Why would I want to come back 'ere? Nothing will strip this boy of his morals." The pirate stared at her again. But then he relaxed and stood up. "You're a lucky woman, Elizabeth, and don't ever forget that." And he crossed the room in a few simple steps, then grasped the door handle and opened it. Elizabeth stared for a moment. This wasn't possible. Jack Sparrow, THE Jack Sparrow of legends, was giving up. He would be sailing out in a few hours, and nothing could change his mind.

            "We're going now!" Elizabeth shouted quickly. "Goodbye Father." She then quickly grabbed Will's hand and the three of them ventured out into the muggy evening air before Mr. Swann could ask many questions.

            The sun was almost completely set, and although it would be many hours before the Pearl was expected to arrive, Elizabeth couldn't help staring up at the emerging moon fearfully. They had agreed to go for a light round of drinks before Jack headed back, and she feared this would be it. They would make polite conversation as Will and Jack exchanged secret, uneasy glances and Jack would sail off, soon forgotten by most at Port Royal. Most except for Will. Will would go back to staring out at the shore, now calling for both of his loves, and Elizabeth would feel alone again. Why was Will so stubborn?

            Elizabeth stared down at the shore. Will hadn't visited that place in the longest time. Ever since Jack had come, Will had been around him a lot, no matter how much he had complained about the older man. And part of her hoped when Jack left that Will would spend that much time with her. Some selfish part of her hoped that Will would be able to forget that the pirate had ever sailed into their lives and maybe try to love her like he used to. But she sighed as she saw them stumble awkwardly over each other, blushing lightly as they both tried to get into the bar. She knew that could never happen.

            The conversation between the two men was tense, and Will knew it was making it much harder on Elizabeth. He wanted to explain more clearly to Jack about why he couldn't go, and part of him wanted Jack to try to stop him. Part of him wanted Jack to simply take him and ravish him against the wall. However, for once in his life the pirate seemed to understand the concept of personal space and always kept a fair distance from Will.

            "Well, here's to lasting friendship, and hope for the future." Elizabeth toasted, holding up her mug. The two men followed suit and they all bumped mugs, then drank down large gulps of alcohol.

            "And many a luck to you two, with yer family an' what not." Jack replied, trying a smile. And for a moment, Will found he could almost believe him. But Jack's eyes told a story, and it wasn't a tale of happiness.

            "Did you remember everything?" Will asked nervously as they stood on the dock, watching the small ship become larger in the distance. At first they hadn't been sure, but now it was as plain as day: the ship was the Black Pearl, and Jack was going to be whisked out of their lives with the possibility of never returning. Elizabeth had managed to persuade the nightly guards to take a break and they stood alone, waiting out the night.

            Jack didn't seem inclined to answer, and Will thought it might be just as well. It was spoken out of desperation to end the silence between the three of them, and possibly a hope that Jack would read between the lines. It didn't seem likely, though, since not even Will seemed to know what was there. And the silence was there as the Pearl got closer, and closer, and Will thought he might go insane for how long it took. But the Black Pearl arrived and Jack seemed emotionless, leaving Will to wonder if he had ever felt anything between them or if his first suspicion had been correct, and Jack had only been interested in his body.

            "Well, lad and lass. Have a nice life." Jack said, grinning almost nervously as the Black Pearl stopped in the middle of the delta. Almost immediately a lifeboat was sent out with Cotton and his parrot in it. Again they were all silent as he pulled up, and Jack got in.

            "Good bye Will. Elizabeth." Jack nodded to both of them, and then they set off back to the Pearl.

            Elizabeth couldn't believe it as she watched Cotton and Jack row back to the ship. She was sure there would be some last minute change of heart on Will's part, or possibly a new plan by Jack. This wasn't supposed to happen. Will was supposed to sail off into the sunset and return to find her happily married, where they would get on greatly and Jack would love Will until the end of time. It all seemed so unfair somehow, so unbelievable. Yet there she was, and there seemed to be no hope for any of her romantic notions.

            "That's the second time that man has done that to us." She murmured. She felt Will smile slightly.

            "Almost seems hard to believe it's over." He replied. They watched Jack climb up the side of the ship, and Will suddenly turned around. "Come on, there's nothing left to see." Elizabeth frowned.

            "Will…"

            "What?" he snapped. Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise as she took a step back. Will had never used such a harsh tone with her, and she was thoroughly shocked.

            "I'm sorry." He replied, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just a bit…" Wordlessly, Elizabeth went up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

            "I'll miss him too." She said softly. He sighed, sagging his shoulders a bit.

            "It's just… this is the second time he's just slipped away, and even though I might have nagged him, I like Jack, and…" Words failed the blacksmith once again and Will simply shrugged. "I'm going to miss him." Elizabeth simply slipped her arms around his waist from behind, laying her head between his shoulder blades.

            "He'll come back." She said softly.

            "How can you be so confidant?" Will asked, placing a hand on the interlinking ones around his waist.

            "Because you're here." They remained silent for a few more moments.

            "Think he's gone yet?"

            "Why don't you check?" Will sighed, and Elizabeth released him. They both turned around to see the Black Pearl sitting in the middle of the lake and a life boat in the middle of the lake. Will sighed, but frowned as he realized the boat was headed towards the dock.

            "What are they doing?" Elizabeth hissed. "They could get caught at any moment. And is that Jack in the lifeboat?"

            "Yes, yes I think it is." Will replied, and for a moment he smiled, and every fantasy he'd ever had involving Jack that he'd clogged back spilled forth in his head. Then Will felt a small pit in his stomach. Why was he coming back?

            "What is he doing?" Elizabeth wandered aloud, confused. Everything was done and over, why was he coming back? Unless…

            "Will!" Jack called out, rowing frantically to the dock. "We've found him!"

            "Who?" The blacksmith shouted back.

            "Your father!"

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I'm sorry, I hate cliff hangers too. I'd lie to you and say the more reviews I get the faster I go, but I write when I have the time and I can't spare more then that. But I'd still love to hear from everyone!


	9. Away We Go

First of all, once again, I suck, and I bow before ye all. :: bows:: Second, I'm not replying to individual reviews anymore because I think it wastes space and takes up too much time. However, I will try my best to email you if you have a question or whatnot.

Sorry to leave you hanging, here's the next chapter  
  


Norrington wasn't sure why he had been the only navy officer to notice the presence of the Black Pearl on the water. It had evidently been there a while, and yet he was the first, and for a while, only one who seemed to be aware of it. He had run from his house at top speed, screaming to all available officers to get down to the dock. When he got there, however, the only presence was Elizabeth. She seemed to be staring off into the distance, blind to all around her.

            "Elizabeth?" he asked cautiously, taking a step forward. The brunette whipped around, a startled expression on her face. For a moment, they stayed like that, each unsure of what to do. Then, Elizabeth gave out a small cry, rushing forward to collapse into the Commodore's arms.

            "Thank God you're here, Commodore." She exclaimed, clutching onto his fore arms with an incredible force. "It was awful!" Elizabeth choked out, a small sob escaping her lips. The Commodore waited for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, he decided to take a professional approach to it.

            "What happened, Mrs. Turner?" he asked.

            "The pirates came and they.. they.. they took Will!" The young woman gasped, then broke down into more sobs, burying her face in the commodore's arms. Norrington frowned.

            "The pirates came to the dock, took Will and left?" he replied. He was answered with a slight nod of Elizabeth's head before she continued wailing. He heard the boots of the other officers reporting and he decided to leave it there for now. But he knew there was something more to this story then the heir had claimed, and it wouldn't be the first time Elizabeth had lied to get something.

            "They've left." He called out. "But I want four of you here to guard the dock and the rest of you to search the town from any sights of lingering pirates. They are to be arrest on sight, and if they resist, use any means necessary." Almost as an afterthought he added, "They've kidnapped Mr. Turner."

            Will wasn't sure what had truly happened, exactly. After Jack had announced that he had found his father, all he remembered was Elizabeth pushing him forward, and flashes of being rowed to the ship, and a warm welcoming from the rest of the crew, shortly after which he had excused himself and was led to his room. The next day was spent getting ship basics from the crew and getting acquainted with the crew. All he really knew was that he had spent his first two nights aboard the Black Pearl, and that his father was somewhere on the seas. He didn't know where they were headed, or even if they had any intention of leading him to his father.

            However, in another way, it didn't really bother him. His father! The one man he hadn't seen for a very long time. The one man he had based his way of life on. The one Will thought was dead. When Will's mother had told him of his father's honourable deeds, Will's one true aim was to be as worthy as his father, to serve God and country without fail. Even after the realization that finding his father wasn't easy to do, he held faith. If I was missing, Will would argue to himself, he would sail the sevens seas looking for his beloved son. Will himself had planned to go sailing around the earth in search of his father, after asking Elizabeth's hand in marriage. The blacksmith figured he would have then brought his father back and let him meet Will's bride, and everyone would have turned out alright. After many failing years of trying to at least hold a lengthy conversation with the beauty, though, he had given up on that part, and had planned to barter passage around. Then Jack Sparrow had to come and screw up everything.

            He stared at the ceiling of his cabin, lost in thought as he considered his father and Jack. He knew he should be happy, he was nearly alone on the ship with Jack, Elizabeth almost begged him to cheat on her, and he was most likely going to be reunited with his father. Yet, unlike his first adventure, he had given great thought to the future when he had gotten on the boat and it made him unsure. He still wasn't sure exactly what Jack wanted from him, and even if he was sure of the pirate's intentions, it caused a lot of problems. He had felt himself warm up to the pirate's attention in the last month, and was interested in the enigma that was Jack. Yet, at the same time, Jack was a mystery. Will was a bit more aware that the pirate was offering him a chance to solve it, but it was so uncertain. What if he didn't like who he found underneath the mystery? What if they got bored with each other? He didn't suspect that Jack was a man of lasting relationships, and wondered if it was worth completely throwing away what he had with Elizabeth.

            "Still in bed at this hour?" a familiar voice called out, and Will groaned at the sudden intrusion of sunlight into his darkened cabin. He could almost feel Jack smiling as he drew the covers over himself.

            "You'll be wantin' to ge' down 't breakfast before the rest of the crew, o' there won' be anything left." Jack told him. "And after your done, come to my cabin. I'd like t' discuss a certain Bill with you." With that the pirate left, taking the sunlight with him as he closed the door. Sighing, Will accepted his fate and slowly rolled out of bed. Maybe everything would work out, he thought.

            "'Ow long deya think ye can last under Capt'n Jack's thumb?" An unnamed pirate jeered, grinning as laughter broke out across the table.

            "Give 'im a break." Anamaria broke in instantly. "It's 'is firs' bloody day." There were some 'oows' and whistles at the table as Anamaria looked back at her food imperturbably.

            "I dunno if Jack's gonna like you edgin' in on his territory." Another crewmate replied. Anamaria shot him a death glare and the matter was immediately closed.

            Will, on the other hand, was mortified and surprised. The entire crew was in on Jack's interest in him? It was almost unbearable to believe he would be stuck on a boat for months with people who seemed to know that he was possibly… could be… a sodomite.

            On the other hand, they didn't seem too concerned. It was like a big joke at the table. Of course, it was most likely Jack had taken male lovers before. Will instantly pushed that thought out of his mind. It was a bit of a shock to his sensitivities, despite living with Jack for a month, and a slow blush started to break out on his face.

            However, another word also intrigued him. 'Territory'? Will wasn't going to be anyone's territory, even if he was on a boat in the middle of nowhere at the mercy of a man who had little sanity left. He had to make sure Jack knew that too.

            "Now, from what I've gathered about your ol' dad, he's currently captaining a ship called the Silver Guardian, which has been around for about two years. Not a large reputation, but word has gotten around. It's a buccaneer ship, and it's robbed, pillaged and plundered many good places." Jack explained, sitting down across from Will. A map was spread out on the table, and several red dots where scattered, mostly around the Caribbean shore. "Now, I've also plotted out where the ship has taken other ships, places it's rumoured to make berth, and… such other things." Jack told him, waving his hands around radically. Looking over the map, Will realized how detailed it truly was. Various places had been marked down, with the names of ships, a short line about what had happened after the attack and towns they had stopped at in the past.

            "How long did it take you to compile all this?" Will asked in wonder, gazing at the map intensely. For such an… unstable man, organisation like this was incredible.

            "Oh, it didn't take too much." Jack replied, and Will could practically feel the pirate's grin. "Y'see, t's all about the people you know, lad."

            "This is amazing." Will breathed, and was so overtaken with the map, he almost didn't notice Jack's arm snaking around his waist as he leaned over. Almost.

            "Yeah. It's a piece o' work, 'at one is." Jack replied proudly. "Only for our favourite eunuch." Jack squeezed Will's side, and the blacksmith felt himself stiffening. He felt so… uncomfortable. Almost without thought, he pulled himself from Jack.

            "I guess I'd better get helping out the crew then. Do I have an official position on the Black Pearl?" Jack studied Will from eyelids posed at half mast, and Will felt himself blush slightly.

            "No' ye'. If you really wanna help out the crew, jus' go ou' and ask what needs to be done."

            "Alright." Will jerked his head a bit, and then all but fled from the captain's cabin.

            "Wonder why tha Cap'in's goin' so easy on the landlubber." Don, a new addition to the crew, wondered aloud.

            "Jack owes 'im." His brother, Ron, argued, taking no notice of the working blacksmith 5 meters away. "Ain't no better way to pay the lad back then to let him experience to open sea for a bit."

            "Yeah, bu' 'e 'asn't even given the man a position yet." The cabin boy popped up. "'Sides, I thought they were all even at the end anywa'."

            "Na." Gibbs shook his head, throwing a cautious glance in Will's direction. "Will saved Jack's life once before this, and then the lass an' 'im took Jack in. Jack owes 'im."

            "Still, 'e hasn't acted like this wit' any of the other recruits."

            Anamaria rolled her eyes. It was times like this that she longed for female companionship. Men were so oblivious, although she couldn't blame them now. If it were for the fact Jack had confided in her a couple of times, she wouldn't be sure either. Jack was acting so… strange around Will, like he was afraid of the man. Anamaria shook her head. Typical Jack. Even his confusion was different from that of most men.

As the rest of the men bickered amongst themselves, Anamaria turned her attention to the shrinking figure of their captain, who almost seemed to want to hide in the shadows. Frowning, the dark skinned woman made her way over to the sulky Jack Sparrow. Despite her silent walk, Jack sighed as her heard her approach.

"Come to tell me what I've don' wrong?" He asked, leaning over the rail. Anamaria stood beside him, squinting into the sun touched waves.

"Well, I was, but it might kill ye at this rate." Jack smiled slightly, looking down between his arms and his chest. A few moments went by, and Anamaria got a bit frustrated. "Why're you acting like a shy li'l girl?"

"A shy little girl?" Jack asked, looking at the woman for a moment. Her face remained stony and imperturbable. He sighed, and looked out over the water again. "You're too damn nosy fer your own good, woman."

"It's Turner, i'nt it?" Anamaria demanded.

"Don't you have a deck to swab or something?" Jack snapped, tensing his body. Anamaria sighed and turned on her heel, a purpose burning in her eyes.

"The infamous Will Turner aboard the Black Pearl yet again." Anamaria called into the room. She heard Will sigh.

"Hello Anamaria." He replied.

"Yer enthusiasm makes me wanna jump o'erboard and be done wi' it." She replied, stepping into his room.

"I'm sorry, I'm not much in the mood for conversation." Will told her stoutly.

"Goo', 'cause this is more of an interrogation." She replied. "Wha'd ya do t' make the Cap'in all mopey like yer? Did you make 'im sick again?"

"I'm sorry, but-"

"Seriously. Bot' of ye are wanderin' 'round like someone told ye Barbossa were back. So tell me wha's going on er else I'll 'ave you dangled overboard for a while." Sighing, Will resigned himself to his fate and began to speak.

"Jack hasn't given me a position yet." Anamaria cocked her eyebrow.

"And?"

"And what? Jack hasn't given me a position. It's like he thinks I'm too… incompetent to do anything on my own." At this point Will got up and started pacing around in his small room. "He always says 'Will, go learn about the ship' or 'Will, go to your room' or… things like that!" Will was in a furry now, making exaggerated hand motions and waving his arms like they had no joints. "I haven't been able to do a single thing on my own besides piss over the side of the ship! I've even heard the crew making a good laugh at it! It's disgraceful." Anamaria carefully watched Will, taking in this information, and things became a bit clearer.

"You'd better smarten up whelp,'cause I won't be havin' your ungrateful attitude, ev'n 'f Jack migh' stand for it." She scowled. Will stopped and glared back at her.

"Selfish? All I want is an official position, to help the crew, and a bit more independence. It's not selfish."

"Oh, and screwin' 'round with our Cap'in is?" Will looked at Anamaria questioningly, and she scowled again.

"I's the only time I'm gonna spell i' ou' for ye. Jack doesn't know what to do wit' ye." Will's brown crinkled and his eyes darkened.

"What?"

"You're somethin' else to 'im, Gods know why." She replied, staring into the blacksmith's eyes to accentuate her point. "He ain't givin' you a position 'cause that would be putting you below 'im. So, until the man ge's o'er 'is little… problem wit' you, yer more 'f a guest then anythin'. I mean, loo' at this." Anamaria tapped the side of his room with her knuckles. "You ge' yer own room. Ye and Jack. Rest of us 'ave to sleep near the kitchen 'n cots a 'airs breath away from each other. If that don' mean somethin', I dunno what'll get through yer thick, imperial 'ead."

"Why am I getting this special treatment?" he asked, sitting carefully on his bed, looking almost confounded. Anamaria shook her head.

"Dunno, lad. 'Owever, none of 'is other boy toys got this kind o' treatment, so I suggest ye enjoy it while you still can." She left Will contemplating on his bed, and smiled as she closed the door. She touched her lips and grinned to herself. This was one of the rare romances of the ship, and she was determined to enjoy herself. After all, she still was a woman.

 _______________________________________________________________

I just want to say, POTC DVD was awesome, and I'm happy we finally learn Norrington's first name. I forgot it, however, but you'll probably see it in another chapter. James, wasn't it? Eh. And I think the Johnny/Gore commentary was a fine example of why men should never do commentary together. I mean, look at the Kiera/Jack one. That was great, even if Kiera did sound incredibly blonde.

Anywho, thanks for reading!


	10. A lot of booze

ARG!!! Why must I fail in every attempt?!?!?! I meant to have this out a week ago, and look where I am. Jebus. Arg!!!!!!!!!! But I'd like to say thanks for loving me anyway. And if you don't, :: sniffs:: I'm sorry!!!!

D/c: I don't own anything that has already been legally claimed.

            At first, Will hadn't been sure of the explanation of Jack's behaviour. After all, the pirate wasn't known to be shy or unsure of himself, so at first it had seemed completely unfeasible.  However, he had decided to keep quiet and just watch the pirate, and after two days of doing so, he thought there might be some truth to the idea. He still hadn't been given a position, still remained in his own cabin and the crew didn't show any signs of letting up on the jokes. He was known as 'the pet', 'love', 'the lad', or, his favourite, 'whelp'. 

However, the crew seemed to have adjusted to his presence well enough, as he was always onboard drinking, laughing, joking and singing with them. On the rare night that some form of party wasn't happening, (saving up the rum, Will supposed) he would simply stare at the stars, estimating how far they had travelled, imagine what Elizabeth was doing. Will would idly wonder if she was missing him as much as he was missing her. Will never thought he would admit it, but he was missing her almost to the point of sickness. They were never very close as lovers, but since Jack had come, he had discovered a wonderful friend in his wife. In a way, he had fallen in love with her again, but is a different context. It was almost if Jack and Elizabeth had traded spaces.

Will shook his head but grinned. For some reason, everything out on the open sea seemed to be better. Even if everything was pickled or dried, and his friends were drunken pirates, it seemed like he could never tire of this place. Maybe if was the promise of finding his father. Maybe it was the promise of discovering more about Jack.

Shaking his train of thought off, Will pulled on his shoes, and jovially skipped down to breakfast. Well, as much as a blacksmith can skip.

In all truth, Will HAD meant to go down to breakfast. After all, he was a hardworking pirate, and thus constantly hungry. However, he couldn't help but have his curiosity peaked when he saw Anamaria hunched over a rather large crate. Carefully he took a few cautious steps towards her, trying to avoid being seen.

"Will, if you're just going to hover there you could at least help, you know." The African woman grumbled. He took a step back, amazing at her omniscient knowledge.

"What ARE you doing, exactly?" He replied, staring cautiously at the rum bottle she had in her hands. At his inquiry, Anamaria smirked, a smirk full of all the evil and vileness of Satan himself could ever possibly hope for. It scared her companion a bit.

"Jack's been a bit odd lately, as we have discussed, righ'?" she asked. Will nodded, taking another cautious step back. "Well," she continued, without glancing at him, "I thought was sort of vile thing could possibly make Jack Sparrow act like himself again? And the answer came to me, like a rock hittin' me square in the 'ead. His rum. So I came up with an ingenious plan. Maybe I come across a bottle tha' don't taste quite right. Well, we'd 'ave to toss the rest overboard, or at least taste every bottle to see if the entire shipment is ruined. It's in the code, you see. Now Jack'll not only have no rum, the entire crew'll be drunk." Will frowned.

            "That seems a bit overly cruel, seeing as who we're dealing with." Anamaria finally got up, bottle in hand and turned to shake her head at Will.

"When you become a pirate, things like this are child's play." She tucked the bottle in a sash tied around her waist. "Now c'mon. We have a crew to torture."

The crew wasn't totally stupid. Despite the fact none of them ever seemed to totally have their wits about them, they knew something was a bit disorderly when Anamaria complained of the odd bottle.

"Rum don't go bad." Dawkson, a scrawny yet surprising brawny 15 year old said.

"Wot 'e said." Nodded Smith, a former blacksmith who Will found quite talkative. "'Sides, 'ows it taste odd?" After many of these sorts of comments, Anamaria growled, and resorted to threats to get the crew to drink up the rest of the rum. After making several promises that Barbossa would have shied away from, the crew all but ran to the supply room to pick up a bottle or two. Anamaria and Will tailed along, not wanting to look like they had commit the crime.

Will was wondering what the only female pirate and he were going to do, when said pirate slammed a bottle into his chest. He looked up at her, startled.

"I'm not sure it's right to get drunk this early." Will admitted, taking the bottle anyway. Anamaria's eyes darkened slightly.

"Better get drunk while ye still can, lad. Jack won't be happy."

By the time Jack had come, the crew was pleasantly drunk and singing a rather lewd song about a certain queen. Will was pleasantly not there, and wondered why the sight of Jack was bringing a slightly dreadful feeling into his stomach. The pirate raised his eyebrow, looking around suspiciously at his drunken companions.

"What's this?" he demanded, just missing his unconscious cabin boy by one step. "It's rotten luck to get drunk before supper, and without me too."

"It's gone!" Anamaria crowed, giving a drunken swagger. Jack frowned.

"'It' wouldn't happen to be the rum now, would it love?" Anamaria giggled, then held onto Jack's coat to steady herself.

In his drunken state, Will once again saw Jack as someone worthy to study. He noted the dread locks in the pirates hair and beard were back, and at some point he had gotten the beads back. His hair still wasn't as long at it usually was, and his beard was just barely long enough to get the beads on. He seemed to be a bit deal grungier then before, and his skin was once again as bronze as gold. His English, which had been somewhat refined by his stay at the Swann household, was once again rough and rather crude. Over all, Jack was getting back to looking like himself.

Disentangling himself from the drunken woman, Jack made his way towards Will. The former-blacksmith eyed him warily, vaguely aware of how bad this could possibly go. A small fire seemed to glow angrily in Jack's eyes as he crouched down beside him.

"Will," he said softly, dark eyes boring into him. Will suddenly couldn't remember anything, and felt like kissing the man in front of him. "I know you're not the kind of man to pull this stunt. Yer a good, honest whelp, eh? Well, just tell me what this is all about and you're off the hook."

At first, Will was a bit confused. This? What was this? Then something clicked, and he nodded slowly, his dark hair shifting. Should he tell Jack? He was such a nice man. But then Anamaria would be mad. Women weren't fun when they were mad. So confusing.

"Lad?" Will groaned as he felt something come up. He heaved over, missing the look of disgust on Jack's face as he lost his stomach contents of Jack's shoe.

"Is that the whole story Miss Turner?" Gillette asked.

"Yes." She replied icily, glaring at the lieutenant from under the safety of the Commodore's coat. 

"I think that's enough questioning for today." James Norrington said, nodding stiffly at his crew member. Gillette nodded a bit more lucidly, bowed towards the lady, and all but ran out the door.

"Bastard." Elizabeth mumbled darkly. Despite himself, Norrington chuckled.

"He's quite a good man, if not a bit on the slow side." Elizabeth stared at the Captain a moment.

"Did you sleep with him?" Norrington raised his eyebrows, staring at the girl in a perturbed way. 

"May I ask you to repeat that?" he asked, voice straining. Where did such a protected rich girl learn such vulgarity?

Elizabeth seemed to realize what she had done, and blushed a light shade of pink. "I beg your pardon. It's just… all the rumours you hear about the navy and the military, I thought…" her thoughts faltered as the intensity of the Commodore's stare increased. She put her head down, blushing brightly. Things like that could get her in serious trouble. "Forgive me, it was imprudent to ask." She mumbled. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Commodore still staring, but nodding slightly.

"So, there's nothing more you wish to add to your testimony, Mrs. Turner?" Elizabeth widened her eyes, surprised at the change in topic. However she raised her head and allowed her somber mask to slip over.

"No."

"Alright." Norrington nodded stiffly, and did a jerky bow. "We will work our hardest on it. Thank you for your co-operation, Elizabeth." On the last word, his eyes softened slightly, and his companion nodded.

"Thank you for coming over, James." With another bow, Norrington left, never looking behind him. In spite of herself, Elizabeth smiled as she snuggled deeper in the Commodore's coat. She could have given it back. However, at this point, she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Jack wasn't happy. No one had expected him to be though, and even in their drunken states the crew realized how much trouble they were in as their captain paced back and fourth.

"Is anyone going to take the blame for this?" Jack demanded, looking around, the same fire still lit in his eyes. No one dared rat out his female mate. Jack was a scary man, but hell hath no furry like the scorn of a woman. Especially a woman pirate.

"Very well. We'll be forced to stop in the nearest town 'en.  Charlotteville." Everyone, excusing the captain and Will, groaned. The blacksmith, who had slightly sobered up since decorating Jack's boot, looked around in confusion. 

"What's so bad 'bout that?" Will whispered to Gibbs. Gibbs shook his head.

"Charoletteville's the mos' boring, poor town this side o' the Caribbean. Some say a good blast o' wind could ransack th' town." Will nodded, slowly sitting up straight. Land. Again. It seemed too good to be true, in a way.

"Can't believe the bastard is making up get off in Charloetteville." Anamaria fumed, digging her nails into her palm.

"Supposed we shouldn't mention 'oose fault 'his is." Don reminded her, taking the last piece of bread. The dark woman shot him a dirty look.

"I can't imagine 'm the on'y 'un who doesn't wanna stop." She pointed out.

"I don't know. I miss some things about land." Will broke in. Everyone stared at the usually silent man.

"Like firm ground?" someone else asked.

"Animals?"

"Greenery?"

"Women." The entire crew laughed as Anamaria docked Ron upside the head.

"I miss me kids the mos'." Samuel, the crew's lookout admitted. Several of the men nodded.

"I've go' a daugh'er back in Tortuga." Jason, a burly man told. "She's 8 in 'bout a month."

"I've got a boy."

"Me too."

The conversation came to a halt as the Captain walked in. Surveying the room, he settled for a seat next to Don. The entire crew watched his every move, especially Anamaria.

"What're you up 'ere for?" She demanded. Jack frowned.

"Me dear, since ye all drank me rum, I guess I 'ave to talk to you scallywags for entertainment." The crew burst out into a hearty laugh, but as it died down there was an awkward silence again.

            "Since you bough' up the topic Will, whadyou miss the mos' 'bout land?" Gibbs asked. Everyone stared at Will intently. The blacksmith frowned for a moment, then smiled.

            "Roses." There was silence once again, then loud laughter. Will chuckled slightly. It was odd. But roses reminded him of Elizabeth, they way she smelt, the rosiness in her cheeks. He truly missed Elizabeth the most. Not as a lover so much, but as his best friend

            By this time some of the crew were pounding their fists on the table, crying out 'Roses!' in a giggle. This wasn't the smartest thing, however, as the lead weights on the bottom gave way to their weight and all the dishes clattered on the floor and the crew. Everyone seemed to laugh harder, however, until they all ran out of breath. After another small silence, Will turned towards Captain Sparrow.

            "What do you miss most about land, Jack?" They made eye contact, and after holding Will in his gaze, he replied.

            "There's nothing to miss anymore."

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Arg!!! I'm sorry, it's taking a awfully long time to get to the good bits. I promise a big make out scene in at least the chapter after the next. However I'll try and squeeze in one next chapter if I can :)


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